Why former Seahawks DB thinks Seattle will move on from Geno and DK
Jan 11, 2025, 3:34 PM
Not everybody saw the Seattle Seahawks’ trade of Russell Wilson coming three years ago, but former NFL safety Jordan Babineaux did.
And that makes his take on Seattle’s most pressing personnel decisions this offseason worth listening to.
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Babineaux, who spent the first seven years of his nine-year NFL career with the Seahawks and is a longtime analyst on FOX 13’s coverage of the team, believes quarterback Geno Smith has already played his last down for Seattle. Not only that, but he thinks wide receiver DK Metcalf is in the same camp.
On Friday’s edition of Wyman and Bob, Babineaux told fellow former Seahawks player Dave Wyman and co-host Bob Stelton what has informed those thoughts, and a big part of it is similarities he sees now with Smith to when the team decided to move on from Wilson.
“In terms of where the Hawks are when you look at that time with all of the conversation and back and forth between Russell’s camp, Russell’s agent, and where the franchise was and the opportunity that they had to move him, we see something similar,” Babineaux said. “(It) could be happening again in terms of who they’re going to turn over the key for the franchise.”
Per Over The Cap, the 34-year-old Smith carries a big salary cap number of $44.5 million for 2025, his last year under contract, which is a big increase from $26.4 million in 2024. If Seattle was to cut him before June 1, only $13.5 million would be a dead cap hit, giving the Seahawks a savings of $31 million. Of course, the Hawks and Smith could also work out an extension to bring down his cap number for next season. Either way, it seems pretty unlikely that Seattle would go into next season with Smith’s cap number staying where it is, especially with the Hawks predicted to be roughly $16.2 million over the NFL’s projected 2025 salary cap, per Over The Cap.
Wilson was set to have a salary cap charge of $26 million in 2022 at the age of 33 before the Seahawks traded him to Denver.
It’s not just the money situation that has Babineaux thinking Smith won’t be with Seattle come this summer, though. He said that the team’s decision to let offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb go last Monday only added to his belief that a big change is coming this offseason.
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“This will be Geno’s third offensive coordinator (since becoming Seattle’s starting QB in 2022),” he said. “I just see this team being young, and if you look at the history of what (general manager John) Schneider has done with this franchise over his tenure, he’s always looked to get younger.
“Geno is a capable quarterback, I think he’s still a starting quarterback, he had his best year as a pro this year. I just don’t see him on the Seahawks roster the next season simply because they’ll be looking to bring someone in (as offensive coordinator) to nurture and mature a young mind with newness and freshness and something different at the quarterback position.”
What about DK?
Smith isn’t the only reason the Seahawks are feeling a crunch with their roster and the salary cap this offseason.
The 27-year-old Metcalf, a two-time Pro Bowler, also has a big cap number for 2025 according to Over The Cap at just under $32 million, which is over double his figure in 2024. Not helping matters is that Metcalf missed two games in 2024 due to injury and finished short of 1,000 receiving yards for the first time since 2021, falling behind second-year player Jaxon Smith-Njigba as Seattle’s most productive receiver.
“This was really the first year that we saw (Metcalf’s) production drop off, and in fact he missed two games and that was rare,” Babineaux said. “But even when they decided to give him a new contract (in 2022), they only did it for three years, so it tells me that was another test. So, ‘Let’s try him out for another three years, let’s see if there’s dropoff.” And again, his development or growth as a pro fell short of 1,000 yards this season. I don’t think that’s the big reason. I think a lot of it too is about bringing something fresh and something new … DK is a star, No. 1 receiver. (But) what I don’t believe is that they’ll bring him back at the number at $30-plus million.”
What the Seahawks will do
So if Seattle doesn’t bring back Smith or Metcalf in 2025, what will it mean for their offseason? Babineaux points to an area where the franchise hasn’t typically made big investments, but where head coach and former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald’s old team has tended to focus its attention.
“I think this is the offseason where the Seahawks will finally invest in the offensive line,” Babineaux said. “… Correct me if I’m wrong, but over the last 10 years the biggest offensive line acquisition that they made was Duane Brown. Under coach (Pete) Carroll, there was very little development or investment into the offensive line. And now you look at what happened in the middle of the season, your veteran center (Connor Williams) decides to step away after the bye week, and now you bring in Olu (Oluwatimi to play center) and the other players (are) kind of fighting to fill that void.
“You got a head coach in Mike Macdonald who came from the Baltimore Ravens, where the trenches were a big highlight, primary (focus) – it was the gold standard for their success. They had success and are still having success because they’re winning at the offensive line, they’re winning at the defensive line. And I think that’s where we’ll see the biggest investment – in protecting the quarterback, particularly if they decide to bring in a young quarterback versus acquiring a veteran quarterback that might be available.”
Hear the full Wyman and Bob conversation with analyst and former Seattle Seahawks safety Jordan Babineaux in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post. Catch Wyman and Bob from 2-7 p.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.
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