I have to rest he said: Seattle Seahawks confirm his retirement about an hour ago…

The Seahawks could replace Geno Smith with a $51 million quarterback, according to an insider.

The Seattle Seahawks will soon have a new head coach, and that coach may decide to move on from Geno Smith at quarterback. The team will have multiple possibilities, one of whom Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio recently mentioned is Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Hurts and the Eagles’ 2023 season went down in flames. After starting 10-1, the club lost six of its last seven games and was defeated by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Round.

There is no apparent indication that Hurts, who signed a large new contract last offseason, wants to leave. But if he does, Florio believes the Seahawks are one of the best fits.

“You can throw in the Seahawks as well, depending on who the new head coach is,” Florio told his “PFT Live” co-host Chris Simms. “You got Geno Smith, where you have an opportunity to get out of the contract, and you could bring in Jalen Hurts if the new head coach decides ‘I think we can make things very special here with Jalen Hurts if he wants out of Philadelphia and needs a fresh start.”

Jalen Hurts May Need a Change of Scenery.
Following their appearance in the Super Bowl in 2022, the Eagles appeared to be a championship contender this season until they were not. During the team’s losing streak, Hurts made cryptic statements about not everyone in the locker room being fully committed.

Following the season, the quarterback gave head coach Nick Sirianni a tepid endorsement at best, and the team has parted ways with offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, whom the quarterback has known since he was 4 or 5 years old, when Hurts’ father coached Johnson’s high school team in Baytown, Texas, according to Tim McManus of ESPN.

All of this has prompted Florio to speak with anonymous NFL insiders about the possibility of Hurts leaving, despite receiving a massive contract extension less than a year earlier.

“If Jalen Hurts thinks that a new beginning is necessary for both of them and they begin talking, the most difficult thing will be locating a suitor. If the team and the player decide it’s time to part ways, you’ve got to find someone who will take on that deal,” Florio said. “There is a lot of guaranteed money on the front end. There’s a 10-day buffer between the start of the new league year and the option exercise deadline of $38 million or more fully guaranteed. They must do it then if they intend to do it.”

How do the Seahawks acquire Hurts to replace Geno Smith?

Last offseason, Jalen Hurts and Geno Smith got big deal extensions. However, most NFL fans are aware that the specifics presented are rarely accurate.

After leading the Seahawks to the playoffs, Smith received a rumored three-year, $75 million contract with $40 million guaranteed and a $25 million average annual value (AAV).

Following the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory, Hurts purportedly signed a five-year, $255 million contract at $179.4 million guaranteed and an AAV of $51 million.

However, neither contract is as straightforward as it appears.

For Smith and the Seahawks, it’s essentially a one-year deal worth just over $27 million. After the 2023 season, the team can opt out of the contract and save between $13.8 million and $22.5 million against the salary limit, depending on when they cut or sell him.

In terms of salary cap implications, it is significantly more tradeable than some of the big extensions that teams have given out in previous seasons.

Mike Florio recently discussed this on NBCSports.com. For the Eagles, “He has been paid $24.3 million thus far. The cap hit for a pre-June 1 trade would be only $18.632 million in 2024. He would then be off the books until 2025.”

For the squad that gets Hurts, it’s a little different.

Can the Seahawks afford it?

They can’t right now, but they could easily move into a position where they could. According to Spotrac, Seattle’s cap space for the 2024 offseason is -$4,027. However, with a few changes, general manager John Schneider may swiftly free up cap space.

The Seahawks will immediately free up $33 million in salary cap space by releasing (or moving) Smith, Tyler Lockett, and Jamal Adams, as well as restructuring DK Metcalf. That readily allows for Hurts’ $13.5 million cap cost next season.,

Now the question is if it makes sense from a football aspect, which is more difficult to answer.