Carroll: Geno Smith ‘as ready as he could be’ for Seahawks in 2023

What will Year 2 as the Seattle Seahawks’ starting quarterback look like for Geno Smith?

Seattle Seahawks HC Pete Carroll discusses Rams matchup, Wagner’s return

If you talk to Smith’s head coach, big things should be coming in 2023.

Smith, a Pro Bowler who led the NFL in completion percentage and was fourth in touchdown passes and eighth in yeards last year, was a key topic of conversation for Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll during this week’s Pete Carroll Preview on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM’s Seattle’s Morning News.

“Yeah Raibs, this has been such a such a great story to watch,” Carroll told Seahawks radio voice Steve Raible. “The whole thing when you go back now and you put it all together with the years that he spent preparing for this opportunity, and then last year when he got his chance and how he handled it not just on the field, but off the field, in the locker room, in every way, what he’s done since (last) season since he comes out of a Pro Bowl year and all of the the acclaim and all that. he has just gone right back to work. I don’t even know if he skipped a day. He just did everything he possibly could to be as ready as he could be.”

Carroll said Smith is in “beautiful shape” physically after a very strong offseason.

“He has just been impeccably prepared for what we’re doing … He’s just been great at it,” he said. “He’s put together an incredible offseason.”

This offseason was much different than last year’s for Smith.

Last year, Smith was battling with Drew Lock for the starting quarterback job.

Now, Smith is coming off a Pro Bowl campaign and signed a three-year extension.

“As Geno has done (before), he’s taken every step exactly the way you would hope you would take so we come out of this camp and now this first week of the season as ready as he could possibly be,” Carroll said. “And that’s all he could give to his teammates and the franchise and he’s done exactly that. It’s really been fun to watch. It’s been a bit of a lesson. It’s been an inspiration, it’s been a lesson and I’m using him as lessons for the younger guys all the time about how he looks towards his opportunities and stuff. Man, it’s been great.”

Another key part of Smith’s offseason, Carroll said, was what he went up against every day during practice.

“He’s gone against (the first-team defense) all camp and throughout and they’ve tried to make it as hard as they can on him. He’s done so many things so well that we can all tell and we can all see it,” Carroll said. “He’s having fun and where you need to get to is where you’ve got your stuff together and you know you’re ready to to play so that you can really go out there and let it rip. That’s where he is right now. He is not holding back, he is not hesitant. He’ll be aggressive and on the attack throughout because he knows he’s earned it by the work he’s put in, and really the level of people he’s been going against. He’s prepared.”

Catch The Pete Carroll Preview every Friday at 8:15 a.m. on Seattle’s Morning News on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Listen to this week’s podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this story. 

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