Last offseason was all about trading Russell Wilson for the Seattle Seahawks. This offseason will be all about getting Pro Bowl quarterback Geno Smith under contract.
By all appearances, both sides want to reach a long-term agreement, keeping Smith in Seattle for the foreseeable future. But now that the 10-year-pro is set to hit the open market, things could get interesting. Especially with so many teams needing an improvement at the QB position this offseason.
One of those teams in need is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Obviously, Tom Brady retired, leaving a GOAT-shaped hole on the QB depth chart. Kyle Trask, the 64th overall pick from 2021, is the only other QB on the roster, but he’s thrown just nine passes in his career and is said to be struggling with NFL playbook concepts.
While the Buccaneers won’t have much salary cap space to begin the offseason, with a league-worst $55 million over the cap, they will absolutely be adding a QB to their roster in the next few months.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ ties to Geno Smith are worth watching
What makes this all interesting is the fact that the Buccaneers recently hired Dave Canales, who served as the passing game coordinator and QB coach in Seattle for the past three seasons. Smith likely gives a lot of credit to coach Pete Carroll for believing in his ability to lead the Seahawks, but what about another coach, who worked overtime while training Smith as he prepared for his breakout season?
Even Seahawks general manager John Schneider recently alluded to the possibility of the Buccaneers getting involved for Smith in free agency, noting his ties to Canales.
“Obviously, Dave has a great relationship with Drew and Geno. Shoot, he did a great job working with Geno (and) staying after practice with Drew. Those guys would work their tails off for a good hour, hour and a half after practice. They’d be out there in the dark throwing the ball, working on footwork and ball carriage and everything. … (But) free agency doesn’t start until the middle of March so there’s a huge period here where we have time to work through things.”
Seahawks GM John Schneider on Geno Smith’s relationship with Dave Canales
We’d be fools to think the Buccaneers won’t at least look into the potential cost of signing Smith. But since the Seahawks have the ability to place the franchise tag, which is expected to be roughly $32 million for QBs, the likelihood of Smith ditching town seems like a long shot. Then again, crazier things have happened, and there’s another Pro Bowl QB who could be on the move.
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