Seahawks' Smith cashes in on $6M bonus in win

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- The Seattle Seahawks were already eliminated from playoff contention heading into their season finale against the Los Angeles Rams, but with $6 million on the line, the game was far from meaningless for Geno Smith.

The veteran quarterback had three contract escalators worth $2 million apiece within reach, and he hit all three in Seattle's 30-25 win at So-Fi Stadium.

"I was just trying to win," Smith said.

By doing so, Smith hit one of his escalators that was tied to Seattle (10-7) either making the playoffs or winning 10 games. The other two were tied to Smith's season-long performance. He needed 185 passing yards to finish with at least 4,282, which he surpassed early in the fourth quarter. For the other, he needed to finish at or above 69.7555% completion rate, which he did by completing 20 of 27 attempts for 223 yards.

Four of Smith's completions were to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who tied Tyler Lockett's single-season franchise record with 100 catches.

Smith ends the season with 4,320 passing yards and a 70.4% completion rate to break a franchise record he set in both marks from 2022. His 578 attempts and 407 completions also topped his franchise records he set from that season. According to the team, he's the 20th quarterback in NFL history to finish with a completion rate of 70% or better.

Smith's four touchdown passes Sunday were his most in any game in his 12 NFL seasons.

"I tell you, I hate throwing incompletions anyways," Smith said. "So those types of things, I'm not worried about that. I try to complete every pass that I throw. Usually, during the games, if I have one, I'm like, 'I have to hit five in a row.' That's how I play. I want to hit 10 in a row. I want 20 completions in a row. I wasn't thinking about anything other than winning."

Smith's fourth touchdown pass, which went to tight end Noah Fant with three and a half minutes to play, also gave him his fourth game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime this season.

"It was great to get that last drive for us to go out there and score, Noah to get his first touchdown," he said. "How crazy does that sound? First touchdown of the season. But for that to be the game winner, biggest touchdown of the year. Just wanted to go out there and win and I'm appreciative of the guys for battling in this game. Obviously had nothing to play for but still had everything to play for."

Escalators differ from incentives in that the latter are guaranteed the moment a player hits them. In Smith's case, the $6 million in escalator money he hit Sunday will be added onto the $10 million roster bonus he's set to make on March 16 provided he's still with the Seahawks as of that date.

Coach Mike Macdonald said Smith was aware of the escalators but was just focused on winning the game.

"He was like, I just want to go win," Macdonald said. "That's all he cared about. He was awesome all week. I'll keep our conversations private but he was great, man. He was awesome. Awesome. All his focus all week was just going out the right way and getting a 10th win."

Smith, 34, will be eligible for a contract extension this offseason, something he wanted last offseason but didn't get as the Seahawks have a policy of not re-doing deals that have more than one year left.

He was asked postgame what will be important to him in negotiations.

"Those are things that I'll talk to the people I need to talk to about," he said. "I appreciate the question, but I like to keep a lot of things internal, in-house, with respects to everybody involved. I think it's the best way to do it."

Smith finishes with 21 touchdown passes to 15 interceptions. He referenced the interceptions while praising the job Macdonald did in his first year as a head coach, saying, "I made a lot of stupid mistakes and he had my back the entire time."

First-year offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb has come under fire in large part because of Seattle's underperforming run game. Smith gave a strong endorsement of his play-caller, whose job security has been called into question.

"I think Grubb is an excellent, excellent coordinator," he said. "Even better man. Our first year, obviously there was some ups and downs, there was some things we can improve on. We'll work hard to get those things fixed, but I believe in this system. I believe this is a really good system and it's going to be really good for a long time.

"I think Grubb has exactly what it takes to be a great coordinator in this league and it's his first year, you've got to give the guy some grace. He's figuring things out too. I thought he did an outstanding job leading the group. I love the passion that he brings to the game and he made me a better quarterback."