Geno Smith is still the Seahawks’ quarterback, but there certainly are signs that he might not be for a whole lot longer – if John Schneider gets a trade offer he likes.

It was no surprise Smith was still on the roster as of Feb. 16, which triggered the guarantee on his $12.7 million salary. That means he will be Seattle’s QB in 2024 — unless another team trades for him.

Where does this trade talk come from all of a sudden? Directly: From Adam Schefter. Indirectly: From Mike Macdonald and new OC Ryan Grubb.

Schefter reported last week that Smith was informed by the team “that he will remain on the roster through this week.”

“Through this week” is a phrase with a very temporary feel to it, implying that he could be gone as soon as next week.

Schefter added: “The Seahawks believed that, in today’s market, with salaries soaring for starting quarterbacks, the right decision was to pay the money, per sources. Now Geno Smith will represent a value to them — or any other team that decides to reach out to see if it can acquire Smith via trade.”

Clearly, Schefter thinks a trade could happen. Macdonald and Grubb have said things that make it seem like it could happen, too.

When he was hired, Macdonald was noncommittal about Smith, saying, “We’ll see how the whole situation shakes out over time.”

That time might be sooner than we thought.

Macdonald and Grubb both mentioned unsigned Drew Lock without being asked about him and said they have talked to both quarterbacks already. That sure makes it sound like they are considering all of their options: Keep Smith or re-sign Lock and draft a guy.

In his intro presser last week, Grubb talked about coaching both quarterbacks: “I’m really fired up and looking forward to coaching (Geno) and Drew both. They’re both wonderful guys and they’re competitors.”

Grubb is obviously covering his bases.

Lock has said he wants to go somewhere he can play in 2024. He could not do that in Seattle unless Smith were gone. Of course, he might not really have any good options to do that anywhere else either — which might mean returning to Seattle as the backup again is his best bet. But, if he re-signs before free agency, it could be a sign that Smith is going to be moved.

John Schneider has not commented specifically on the quarterback situation, but he told Seattle Sports 710 last week that he and Macdonald, in their interview, “talked about quarterbacks shifting the room and tilting the field.”

Macdonald has seen two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson do that in Baltimore for the past six seasons.  

Macdonald told 710 that he wanted a quarterback who elevates teammates. “Can you make people around you better and can you bring people together? Are they gonna go play for you?”

While Smith is a solid starting quarterback, it’s hard to say he’s a shifter, a tilter or an elevator. He did come through in the clutch a handful of times in 2023, which was a feather in his cap and a big argument for him starting for Seattle in 2024.

But the Hawks do not seem married to that idea. And the question becomes: Would any team consider trading for the 33-year-old quarterback?  

Seven or eight teams could be in the market for veteran quarterbacks, but there really are only three of starter quality. Kirk Cousins, 35, and Baker Mayfield, 28, are the top two pending free agents. Russell Wilson, 35, also is expected to be a free agent – released by Denver just two years after the mega-trade from Seattle.

Mayfield seems likely to return to Tampa Bay, which would leave clear openings in Las Vegas, Minnesota and Denver, plus Atlanta, New England, Washington and Pittsburgh looking for possible upgrades over failed recent draft picks.

Of course, the draft will resolve QB issues for some of them. Washington and New England draft second and third and figure to pick from the top three quarterbacks: USC’s Caleb Williams, UNC’s Drake Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels. Atlanta is eighth and could target a QB as well.

Minnesota, Denver and Vegas pick 11-13 in order and could consider Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, Oregon’s Bo Nix and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr.

The big question is which of these teams think they are just a veteran quarterback away from contending. The Steelers, Raiders and Vikings had top-11 defenses by DVOA in 2023 and were 15^th, 27^th and 23^rd on offense.

The Steelers reportedly are not looking for someone to supplant Kenny Pickett, but the Raiders and Vikings appear to be playoff ready with the right QB.

The best match for Smith might be Minnesota, which shares the same offensive concepts under Kevin O’Connell that Shane Waldron ran as Seattle OC (both were Sean McVay assistants with the Rams). If the Vikings don’t want to pay Cousins another $35 million coming off an Achilles injury and are not locked into drafting a QB, maybe Smith is an option for them.

Cousins’ reps reportedly are eyeing the Steelers and Falcons.

Schneider has talked with teams throughout the hiring process, so it is not a stretch to think he might have begun trade-related chats with teams such as Atlanta and Washington. Schefter’s report certainly makes it seem like there are interested teams.

Any serious trade talks likely would occur at the Combine, which runs Feb. 27 through March 4. That’s where much of the big business around the NFL gets done. — e.g., it is where Schneider and Broncos GM George Paton put together the Wilson trade.

Smith is due a $9.6 million roster bonus on March 18, but any trade likely would be made ahead of the start of the league year on March 13 so the Hawks could have $13.8 million in cap space back. (The Wilson trade was reported on March 8, 2022.)

What would the Hawks gain from trading Smith, other than the cap space? Schneider probably wouldn’t do it for anything less than a Day 2 pick. He is missing a second-rounder from the Leonard Williams trade, so he surely would like to recoup that – possibly to use in drafting a quarterback.

Then he could use some of the cap space to help re-sign Williams and then sign a good starting guard.

For 2024, Lock would be a lot cheaper QB than Smith, even as a starter. He made $4 million as the backup in 2023, so maybe do something similar and add “starter” incentives.

If he did end up trading Smith, Schneider surely would look hard to draft a quarterback and be willing to endure some growing pains in 2024 with a new staff, new schemes and a new QB — and then bring it all together for 2025. 

If no deal materializes, Smith will be the Seahawks’ starting QB in 2024 –and we will see what 2025 brings.