It seemed all but certain when the Seattle Seahawks released Paxton Lynch that fellow veteran Geno Smith would back up Russell Wilson this season.
However, in Pete Carroll and John Schneider’s world, nothing is certain.
After all, it was only last year that the team watched and evaluated as Alex McGough and Austin Davis battled it out to be the backup, only for the team to trade a sixth-round pick for Brett Hundley just before roster cutdown day.
Perhaps Carroll and Schneider have a similar plan in mind this season. The team cut both Smith and J.T. Barrett, leaving just Russell Wilson on the quarterback depth chart.
The Seahawks could pursue any number of free agents who were recently released, including McGough, veteran Brian Hoyer and rookie Brett Rypien.
Of course, perhaps the most likely scenario is that the team is going to bring back Smith as soon as the dust settles and the Jadeveon Clowney trade is finalized.
Because Smith is a vested veteran, he does not have to pass through waivers. Thus, the team can re-sign him as soon as they have an open roster spot.
The Clowney trade is still pending a physical, which means Barkevious Mingo and Jacob Martin are both still on the Seahawks active roster. Once the trade goes through and Mingo and Martin join Houston, the Seahawks could then just re-sign Smith.
While that’s certainly not as fun to speculate about as other potential backup quarterbacks coming into town, it does seem entirely possible that Smith will be back on Seattle’s roster within a day.
