Geno Smith arrested for suspicion of DUI in King County as his Seahawks contract ends
Seahawks backup quarterback Geno Smith was arrested by the Washington State Patrol then released early Monday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated in King County.
King County Jail records show Smith was arrested at 2:10 a.m. Monday, hours after he and the team returned from Phoenix and their season-ending win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Smith was released on $1,000 bail at 9:27 a.m., jail records show.
He was in a team meeting with the Seahawks later Monday at the team’s facility in Renton, before they departed to begin their offseason.
“I checked in with him,” Pete Carroll said Monday afternoon during the coach’s season-ending press conference. “We have to let his people handle all of that.
“He was in the meeting today with us. So, I don’t have anything other than that to give to you, sorry.”
Smith, 31, finished his third season with Seattle backing up Russell Wilson. The former starter with the New York Jets and Giants did not play in Sunday’s game, as usual when Wilson is healthy.
Smith’s contract ended with Sunday’s season-ending game. He is due to become a free agent in March. The Seahawks have re-signed him once, before this season, on a one-year deal worth $1.19 million.
Smith started three games in 2021, at Pittsburgh, against New Orleans and versus Jacksonville. He also played the final quarter of the Seahawks’ loss to the Rams in which Wilson got hurt, Oct. 7.
The Seahawks went 1-3 in the games Smith played. That was on their way to finishing 7-10 for their first losing season since 2011, the season before they drafted Wilson.
This season’s were first three games Wilson has missed in his 10-year career. That was in October, when Wilson had surgery on the middle finger of his throwing hand.
Smith went 1-2 in his three starts. They were his first starts in the NFL since one game for the Giants late in the 2017 season.
Smith attorney Jon Fox said in a statement to the Associated Press following his client’s arrest Monday: “Geno is fully cooperative with the investigation. I hope that an open mind can be kept by all as the facts are ascertained.”
The Seahawks had a third quarterback on the roster to finish the season, former University of Washington Husky Jacob Eason from Lake Stevens High School. Carroll talked last week on how strong of a throwing arm Eason has shown Seattle’s coaches, and that he has the physical tools for the position in the NFL.
The Seahawks signed the 6-foot-6 Eason off waivers from Indianapolis in October, while Wilson was recovering from his surgery. The Colts drafted Eason in the fourth round in 2020.
This story was originally published January 10, 2022 at 5:19 PM.
