Tag: Geno Smith

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll regrets not signing Colin Kaepernick

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll regrets not signing quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2017 after his visit with the team.

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll regrets not signing quarterback Colin Kaepernick when the team had the opportunity in 2017.

After Kaepernick opted out of his contract with the 49ers, he had a visit with the Seahawks. Carroll said Kaepernick had had actually reached out to him the year before for some career advice.

“We had great meetings,” Carroll told reporters during a video conference on Thursday. “I don’t know if I had ever explained it in as much depth, but we spent half a day together and he spent time with our people throughout the building and almost a full day, and he was awesome. He just backed up even more of the play that we had seen and the character and his smarts and his togetherness and his competitiveness to the point where it was so obvious that he’s a starter in the NFL.”

Carroll explained Seattle clearly had a starter in Russell Wilson, a justification for not signing Kaepernick at the time. But many believed Kaepernick was unable to garner a contract in the NFL because of the attention his kneeling in support of social protest would bring to teams. Carroll now acknowledges Kaepernick’s message was clear.

“He was right on it,” Carroll said. “He was right on the topics about police brutality and inequality, and he was right on the subject matter at the time. That’s so obvious now where maybe all of the flak that flew about not honoring the flag and all the other things that were not even a part of the demonstration or what his intent was at all, that just skewed the whole discussion, I don’t think that’s around now. It’s different at this time frame.”

So while Carroll and the Seahawks believe they are set with Wilson as the starter and Geno Smith as the backup quarterback for now, Carroll still has regrets about what could have been.

“I regret that we weren’t the one way back when that just did it just to do it, even though I thought that it wasn’t the right fit necessarily for us at the time,” Carroll stated. “The reason it wasn’t the right fit is because I held him in such a high regard I didn’t see him as a backup quarterback and I didn’t want to put him in that situation with Russ. It just didn’t feel like it would fit right. That’s the way I felt about it. So I just wish it would happen, and I wish we would have been a part of it when the time was available then.

“We’re kind of set up right now, so football-wise, it doesn’t seem to fit us like I said. But there’s a lot of time here. We’ll see what happens.”

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Geno Smith seen working out with free agent receiver Antonio Brown

Quarterback Geno Smith is getting offseason work with free agent wide receiver Antonio Brown, a potential target for the Seattle Seahawks.

When ESPN’s John Clayton reported Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was pushing for the team to sign free agent Antonio Brown, it was noted that Brown is close with Seattle’s other veteran quarterback, Geno Smith.

In fact, a series of videos on Instagram show Smith working out at Brown’s workout facility, 84/7 Fitness, doing footwork drills and completing passes to Brown himself.

Brown only appeared in one game in 2019 before he was released by the Patriots after the NFL launched an investigation into his alleged sexual assault.

Brown made waves prior to the season as well, displaying odd behavior while briefly a member of the Raiders, where he refused to comply with the NFL’s new helmet regulations.

Wilson’s interest in bringing Brown to Seattle was known last year, and coach Pete Carroll made it clear the team checked in on Brown after he was released by the Patriots – before the sexual assault allegations came to light.

With Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf set as the team’s top two receivers, Brown would obviously be a dynamic upgrade as their No. 3 wideout over Phillip Dorsett and David Moore.

However, the headache he could potentially cause is a tough sell for an NFL franchise, even if the Seahawks have been willing to take on players with off the field issues in the past.

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John Clayton: Russell Wilson is recruiting Antonio Brown to Seahawks

710 ESPN Seattle’s John Clayton reports that Seahawks quarterback is recruiting free agent wide receiver Antonio Brown to the team.

710 ESPN Seattle’s John Clayton reports that Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is recruiting free agent wide receiver Antonio Brown to the Emerald City.

Clayton said the Seahawks have prioritized other positions, but are open to adding another pass-catching target for Wilson, and another potential advantage is Brown’s friendship with Seahawks backup quarterback Geno Smith.

“It’s pretty clear the Seahawks want to run the ball even more this year,” Clayton said. “They have loaded up at tight end and tried to stay big along the offensive line. But it’s not out of the question for the Seahawks to add another wide receiver. According to sources, Wilson would love to add Antonio Brown. Brown is also close with backup QB Geno Smith, whose one-year contract with the Seahawks was finalized Wednesday.”

However, Brown was run out of town by three teams in a remarkably short amount of time due to disorderly conduct and behavior, and Seattle already has two star wide receivers in Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf. It seems unlikely that the Seahawks will pursue Brown, but anything is possible in the NFL.

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Seahawks officially announce re-signing of QB Geno Smith

The Seattle Seahawks officially re-signed quarterback Geno Smith, waiving tight end Justin Johnson to make room on the active roster.

The Seattle Seahawks made official the move to re-sign quarterback Geno Smith, bringing the veteran back into the fold for the 2020 campaign.

Tight end Justin Johnson was waived to make room on the 90-man roster.

Smith beat out veteran Paxton Lynch to be Seattle’s backup in 2019 after a strong performance in training camp and the preseason, where he threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns with a 100.4 passer rating.

He was not needed during the regular season at all, however, thanks to the incredible durability of starter Russell Wilson.

Smith will face competition to be the backup again this year, this time from  Anthony Gordon, who hails from Washington State and was surprisingly not selected in the 2020 NFL draft, allowing Seattle to pick him up as an undrafted free agent.

Johnson joined the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent out of Mississippi State last year, but he spent the entire 2019 season on the injured reserve with an achilles injury.

He was always a long shot to make the roster, and the team’s free agent addition of tight end Greg Olsen as well as draft picks Colby Parkinson and Stephen Sullivan all but sealed the deal for Johnson, who will now look for other opportunities as a free agent.

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Seahawks’ backup QB competition is Anthony Gordon vs. Geno Smith

The Seattle Seahawks have two players, veteran Geno Smith and undrafted rookie Anthony Gordon, competing to back up Russell Wilson in 2020.

The Seattle Seahawks were always expected to bring in a third quarterback to compete with undrafted free agent Anthony Gordon for the job of backing up ironman Russell Wilson on the active roster.

They reportedly got that done on Thursday afternoon, agreeing to terms with free agent Geno Smith, who served as Wilson’s backup during the 2019 season.

Backup quarterbacks in Seattle have not had to see the field in years, as Wilson hasn’t missed a game in his entire career and rarely misses even a single snap.

Still, it’s an important spot to feel comfortable with the next man up. Seattle would be in a load of trouble if Wilson had to miss extended time, but having a backup they feel comfortable in could help ease the pain at least a little.

Coach Pete Carroll seems to prefer his veteran backups, as evidenced by the team’s decision to draft Alex McGough in 2017 but then cut him in favor of former starter Brett Hundley just before the season began.

Last year the Seahawks had Smith compete with another experienced veteran, Paxton Lynch, before eventually handing the job to the former.

Smith, Hundley and the late Tarvaris Jackson are the most recent backups in the Emerald City, all quarterbacks with a similar skill set to Wilson and NFL experience.

That seems to spell trouble for Gordon, who was a monster in his final season in Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense at Washington State but somehow went undrafted despite a fair amount of hype.

Seattle was wise to snatch Gordon, who has impeccable accuracy as a quarterback but lacks the arm strength and awareness to be an immediate impact player at the next level.

The Seahawks attempted to keep McGough as a developmental quarterback, but after one year on the practice squad he signed elsewhere. If Smith wins the backup job again in 2020, which seems likely, the Seahawks will likely do the same with Gordon.

Wilson is still in his prime, but it might be wise for Seattle to commit to grooming a backup in his mold for the future. As long as Carroll prefers veteran backups, however, this team will struggle to develop someone as his replacement and could be in a bind when the time comes that Wilson is no longer an elite quarterback.

Of course, Wilson intends to play until he is 45, so maybe the team will continue cycling through veteran backups until then, making the need for development unnecessary for the next decade or so.

How this team handles the competition between Smith and Gordon could go a long way toward determining its long-term goals behind Wilson.

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Seahawks agree to terms with Geno Smith on 1-year deal

The Seattle Seahawks love having an experienced backup quarterback, and Geno Smith is a good bet to win the job over UDFA Anthony Gordon.

The Seattle Seahawks have agreed to terms with quarterback Geno Smith on a one-year deal, according to multiple sources – including Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.

The move has not been made official, per the NFL transaction report, nor has a corresponding roster move been made to keep the roster at 90 players.

It was always expected the Seahawks would bring in someone to compete with former Washington State quarterback Anthony Gordon, who Seattle signed as an undrafted free agent after the 2020 NFL draft.

Gordon was among the best quarterbacks in college football last season, but coach Pete Carroll has always preferred his backup to Russell Wilson to be someone with NFL experience. Smith not only has that, but he has a full year of experience in Seattle’s offensive scheme under his belt, despite not playing a single down last year thanks to Wilson’s impeccable record of health.

Gordon will still be given every chance to win the backup job over the summer, but considering the likelihood of a condensed training camp and Carroll’s preference for a veteran, it seems like a good chance that the Seahawks will go into 2020 with the same quarterback room they had last year.

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Seahawks plan to sign Washington State QB Anthony Gordon as UDFA

The Seattle Seahawks finally added a 2nd quarterback to the roster, signing Washington State star Anthony Gordon as an undrafted free agent.

It was somewhat of a surprise to see the 2020 NFL draft end without Washington State quarterback Anthony Gordon – who threw for a whopping 5,579 passing yards last year – getting drafted.

However, it worked out to the benefit of the Seattle Seahawks, who reportedly agreed to sign him as an undrafted free agent, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

With Geno Smith still an undrafted free agent, Gordon becomes just the second quarterback on Seattle’s roster, behind Russell Wilson.

The Seahawks will certainly bring in one or two more players to compete with Gordon during training camp, but at least for the moment he has the edge on the backup quarterback job.

Gordon’s numbers from his lone season as a starter in Mike Leach’s air raid offense at Washington State are eye-popping. He posted a 48-to-16 touchdown-to-interception ratio with over 5,500 passing yards and a stellar 71.6% completion rate – earning him lots of comparisons to the team’s starter in 2018, Gardner Minshew.

Gordon does not have the awareness and arm strength Minshew has, however, and will have to work on those and a handful of other things to become a successful NFL starter at the next level.

Getting to learn under Russell Wilson will be extremely helpful in that regard, and if he performs well in camp and the preseason there’s a good chance he heads into the 2020 regular season with the Seahawks.

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Can Joe Douglas buck Jets’ second-round curse?

The Jets have drafted two future Pro Bowlers out of 37 second-round picks since 1979. Joe Douglas can’t repeat history in his first draft.

The second round hasn’t been kind to the Jets in the past 40 years.

Only two of the team’s 37 second-round picks in the past 41 years have made a Pro Bowl. Defensive end Mark Gastineau, who was drafted in 1979, did it, as did return specialist Justin Miller, who was drafted in 2005.

Joe Douglas already has the 11th overall pick to work with, but he’ll make or break his first draft as the Jets’ general manager in the later rounds. 

The second-round bar is low for Douglas after a plethora of failures since the Jets drafted Gastineau. A brief glance at the recent second-rounders includes 18 players who started fewer than 20 games for the Jets, nine of which started fewer than five games. Meanwhile, only seven started more than 60 games in their career.

Not a great group.

The Jets’ success stories from the second round are few and far between.

Linebacker David Harris is probably the Jets’ best second-round pick after Gastineau. He played 10 seasons with the Jets and wracked up over 1,000 tackles in New York.

The jury is still out on safety Marcus Maye, who’s started all 38 games he’s played in since the Jets took him 39th overall in 2017. He’s been a complement to Jamal Adams in the deep secondary but is also injury prone.

The busts, meanwhile, are plentiful. 

Quarterbacks Geno Smith and Christian Hackenberg, as well as receivers Devin Smith and Stephen Hill, are the most recent notable mistakes. Hackenberg never even saw the field in the regular season despite his high selection, while Smith and Hill combined for 60 receptions, 842 yards and six touchdowns in 43 games.

The Jets have drafted mostly wide receivers, offensive lineman and defensive backs in the second round. Ironically, all are still positions of need. Douglas will have his pick of a deep receiver and lineman class and many mocks predict the Jets will take one of those two positions with the 48th overall pick. The other position will be the first-round pick. Players like tackle Isaiah Wilson and receivers Laviska Shenault and Michael Pittman Jr. should be among the Jets’ second-round targets.

Douglas himself has had mixed results in identifying and drafting talented players in the second round.

Tight end Dallas Goedert and running back Miles Sanders were great pick-ups for the Eagles during Douglas’ time as vice president of player personnel with the Eagles, but defensive back Sidney Jones and receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside haven’t panned out yet. As a scout with the Ravens for 14 years, he helped Ozzie Newsome grab players like Torrey Smith and Ray Rice in the second round. The Bears also drafted defensive tackle Eddie Goldman – who only has 12.5 sacks in five years – when Douglas was the director of college scouting for Chicago in 2015.

The best use of a Jets’ second-round pick in the past five years was actually the trade that landed New York the No. 3 overall pick in 2018 that resulted in Sam Darnold. The Jets moved up from No. 6 to No. 3 by giving the Colts their second-round pick in 2018 and their two second-rounders in 2019. Darnold still has a ways to go before becoming the franchise quarterback the Jets hope he can be, but he’s still better than what the Jets probably would have used with those three second-round picks.

With so many holes on the roster, the second round will be crucial for Douglas and the Jets. They can’t whiff again if they want to see Darnold progress. Douglas’  background in scouting and experience with successful franchises gives him a leg up on the Jets’ past general managers, but it’s impossible to predict how the draft board will fall and how the players will fit on Adam Gase’s team.

Geno Smith calls Rex Ryan ‘snake’ after coach slams QB & Bill Belichick

Former New York Jets coach Rex Ryan gave Tom Brady credit for the Bill Belichick’s six Super Bowl rings while bashing Geno Smith.

Bill Belichick has won six Super Bowls with the Patriots since 2000, but former Jets coach Rex Ryan said he wouldn’t have any titles if not for Tom Brady. Ryan went so far as to invoke the name of former Jets quarterback Geno Smith – who Ryan coached from 2013-14 – when making his argument. 

“Let’s give him Geno Smith,” Ryan said on ESPN’s First Take, “and let’s see how many Super Bowls he would have won.”

The video quickly went viral, and caught the eye of Smith. The former Jets retorted with a series of tweets directed at his old coach. Smith called Ryan a “snake” and said that he was being painted as a scapegoat for the Jets’ poor record during his time as the starter.

 

Neither Ryan nor Smith had much success in New York. Ryan went 46-50 in six seasons – including 5-8 in 13 games against the Patriots – while Smith went 11-18 in Ryan’s final two years in New York. Ryan started off hot in New York with back-to-back AFC championship appearances but faltered before being fired in 2014.

Smith, who Ryan and the Jets drafted 39th overall in 2013, completed 57.5 percent of his passes for 5,5571 yards, 25 touchdowns and 34 interceptions in the 29 games he played. He lost the Jets’ starting job to Ryan Fitzpatrick for good before the 2015 season when defensive end IK Enemkpali punched Smith in the face and fractured his jaw. Smith played with the Giants and Chargers and was the backup for the Seahawks in 2019.

Geno Smith fires back at ‘snake’ Rex Ryan and reignites their feud

Here we go again.

It’s no secret that former New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith and his ex-head coach Rex Ryan — who drafted the West Virginia product with a second-round pick in 2013 — have some seriously bad blood.

Back in 2017, Ryan told the New York Daily News he was happy Smith got a shot to start for the New York Giants but that hated to see Eli Manning benched (he called it “a slap in the face to a great veteran player”). Smith called out Ryan soon after, calling him a “coward.” Ryan shot back with a reference to Smith’s jaw being broken by teammate IK Enemkpali with a punch.

On Wednesday, Ryan — who ignited some other controversy last week — was arguing about what Tom Brady did for Bill Belichick in New England and dropped this take that involved Smith’s name:

Smith fired back on Twitter:

Yow.

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