Geno Smith is right in the middle of contract negotiations to stay in Seattle. The fact that he's slated for a pretty sizable deal that the Seahawks want to give him is a testament to what a terrific season he had as a starter this year after taking over for Russell Wilson.

Beyond just the drive to play well for himself, Smith was vocal about his desire to make the Seahawks brass look good for openly trusting him. What many expected to be a ho-hum QB battle between him and the newly acquired Drew Lock turned into a 17-game season of Geno Smith playing every single snap, via Pro Football Talk:

“I really wanted to prove those guys right, coach [Pete] Carroll, John Schneider, just how much faith they showed in me obviously trading away Russell Wilson,” Smith told SiriusXM NFL Radio. “It had nothing to do with me, but just trading away the franchise cornerstone for 10 years and making the transition, and then a guy like myself who had been written off, been on the beach and then for them to see the work that I’ve been putting in, because I have been putting in an immense amount of work behind the scenes. I do a lot behind the scenes. Just for them to recognize that meant a lot to me. When the season came, they knew what I was going to do. I feel like I did, too, but it just had to happen.”

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GM John Schneider in the middle, Kris Jenkins, Cooper Beebe, Cedric Gray around him, and Seattle Seahawks wallpaper in the background

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Russell Wilson surrounded by piles of cash.

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USC quarterback Caleb Williams on the left side of the image, Pittsburgh Steelers QB Russell Wilson on the right side of the image. There is an equals sign between them.

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After six years serving as a backup on what looked to be a long but middling QB career, Geno Smith was named to the Pro Bowl and helped lead the Seahawks to the playoffs. The fact that he did it after Russell Wilson failed to make it on his new team made the success feel just a little bit sweeter.