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Seahawks explain why and how Geno Smith trade happened

In the week between episodes of Seattle Sports’ John Schneider Show, a lot happened with the Seattle Seahawks.

Such as trading quarterback Geno Smith when it had seemed like that was the furthest thing from the mind of the Seahawks’ general manager and president of football operations.

Wyman and Bob react to Seahawks’ ‘shocking’ Geno Smith trade

Smith was indeed traded to the Las Vegas Raiders in a move first reported last Friday, which was the day Schneider had told Seattle Sports’ Dave Wyman and Bob Stelton that the Seahawks were set to talk with the veteran QB about a contract extension.

So what happened?

“We made an offer, and we thought it was a strong offer,” Schneider said Thursday. “We wanted Geno to be here. You know, we had to be prepared if, obviously, they didn’t like the offer. There was no counter, so we just had to do what we always do, which is the best thing for the organization.”

That turned out to be trading Smith for a third-round pick and turning in free agency to quarterback Sam Darnold, who had a Pro Bowl season in 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings.

Todd McShay: What Darnold signing means for Seahawks

“The coaches and the personnel staff, we had sat down and and said hey, if this does go a different direction – sitting down and studying with all the guys together – can we make this work?” Schneider continued. “It was like, absolutely. It’s crazy because I remember telling you guys like, hey, this is the time of year you got to really be able to pivot. And holy smokes. We were ready for it, but we didn’t plan on it if that makes sense.”

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald, who joined the show as a special guest, added that the coaching staff including new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak sat down to help “come up with what’s the next move.”

“Fortunate that everything kind of lined up the way that we had hoped for and that’s the way it played out,” Macdonald said.

The trade itself came together quickly, and a lot of that is owed to the fact that former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, who had Smith as his starting QB for his last two seasons in Seattle, now is the coach of the Raiders.

“It was pretty evident that the Raiders were interested,” Schneider said. “… I had been in contact with Pete and (Raiders general manager) John Spytek on the situation, and so we actually were able to execute it really quick.”

The John Schneider Show airs at 4 p.m. each Thursday during Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob leading up to the first round of the NFL Draft on April 24. Hear this week’s edition in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post.