My top 10 picks to replace Geno

Keep in mind, it’s a personal list and is likely to differ greatly from yours, especially at No. 1.

You’ve no doubt heard by now that the Seahawks traded Geno Smith to the Raiders for a third-round pick, freeing up salary cap space but leaving a huge hole at the quarterback position.

Let me re-word that: It leaves a huge hole at quarterback. Why is it that everyone write or says “at this position or that position?” Why don’t they just say “at cornerback” or “at wide receiver?” When did everyone start saying “at the wide receiver position?”

Does that make you sound smarter or something to say it like that? I don’t get it, and as you can tell it bothers me to the point of bugging the shit out of me.

Anyway, we could discuss whether it’s a good move or a bad move by the Seahawks or whether they got enough compensation, but the heck with all of that, we’ll all have different opinions on it. I’m guessing if you asked 100 Seahawks’ fans what they think about the trade, 50 would say they liked it, 50 would say they didn’t. Opinions always varied that much on Smith’s level of performance with the Seahawks.

Forget that for the sake of this post. I’m going with a top 10 list of my personal favorites to replace Geno, knowing it won’t in any way look like a top 10 list from the NFL insiders who follow this stuff closer than I do.

Some of these quarterbacks on the list have a decent to good chance to end up with the Seahawks. Some do not. Some have no shot in hell. Nine are available free agents and one is available in the draft.

Let’s get started…

10. Jimmy Garoppolo. Played for the Rams last year and is known for being functional and good enough to lead an offense without screwing up too frequently. Might be No. 10 on my list but would be No. 1 on the lists of single women in Seattle because of his good looks. Not sure if he’s married though, but what the heck, married or not, he’s so damn handsome that female 12’s would swoon for him anyway.

9. Daniel Jones. Washed out with the Giants and never did anything in Minnesota, but maybe he’d emerge as the standout quarterback he was projected to be. I’ll throw out the too often used “change of scenery” as the top reason for Danny Dimes to be a success story in Seattle.

8. Jameis Winston. Former No. 1 pick, had some flashes of brilliance in Cleveland but is mostly known as a guy who can throw untimely interceptions. Come to think of it, have there ever been timely interceptions? As in, ya know, at that point in the game, it was OK for him to throw that pick six? Maybe Winston could reign in some of his erratic tendencies in Klint Kubiak’s system. Probably not, but he’d be fun anyway, and he’s a great quote to boot.

7. Drew Lock. Hell yeah, let’s bring him back for another go-‘round and see if it would be better than the first. Team president John Schneider loves him, and so do I, enough to make a dumb-ass $500 bet with Jason Puckett that he would beat out Geno for the starting job two years ago. I won’t hold that against him though, it’s not his fault that he’s not very good. He’s on this list because it would make for a good story of redemption and second chances and all that kind of crap.

6. Shedeur Sanders. More than likely, he’ll be selected before the Seahawks pick at No. 18, but maybe they’ll move up to grab the second-best quarterback in the draft. How much fun would it be to watch him develop with Coach Prime hanging out on the sideline, watching his kid, offering advice and bringing a national TV audience to Lumen Field?

   

5. Sam Darnold. Odds-on choice on most people’s top 10 lists to replace Geno since he’s the best free-agent QB available. But after playing well for 16 games, he was terrible in the 17th game against Detroit and looked absolutely lost against the Rams in the wild-card round. Said he saw ghosts when he played for the Jets and they seem to be haunting him again.

4. Sam Howell. On no one’s list but mine, this guy cost me $250 with Puck when he failed to beat out Geno, but I still think he could be the quarterback who excelled at times when he was the Commanders’ starter two years ago. He sucked big-time as a fill-in when Geno got hurt against the Packers but still merits a chance. And if he sucks again, oh well, at least you’d know for sure you need to find a different long-term replacement in the draft.

3. Justin Fields. Hey, if you want to go young and go with potential and you’re planning to feature a running game anyway, why not go with Fields? Dynamic player who might be able to find his way in Seattle. Also might be able to find his way to the unemployment office in short order.

2. Russell Wilson. Yeah, I realize the Seahawks have already said they’re not going to consider him at all. They also said Geno was their quarterback in 2025, and he ended up in Vegas. Teams lie all the time about stuff. Would there be a better storyline than a return of Russell to Seattle, ending his career with another run at the Super Bowl? They’d make a movie outta that. Could he recapture the glory? Hell no, but he became such a phony after he became a big-time player that I wouldn’t mind watching him flounder after flourishing in Seattle.

1. Gardner Minshew. How long would your list have to be to put the former Coug on it? Top 20? Top 50? Top 100? What’s the matter with you? He’s No. 1 on my top 10 because he’s one of the greatest Cougs of all-time. This guy has been a capable quarterback in every one of his stops - Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Indianapolis and Las Vegas. You might say incapable, I say capable, OK? Minshew Mania needs reappear in Seattle!

Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend.

Go Cougs.