With lingering knee issue, Seahawks’ Geno Smith says he expects to play vs. Vikings Sunday
He won’t be 100% healthy.
But Geno Smith is playing Sunday for a game the Seahawks nearly must win.
“I’m getting better every day. Looking forward to Sunday,” the 34-year-old quarterback said Thursday, four days after injuring his knee in Seattle’s 30-13 home loss to the Packers.
Smith was asked if he expects to play for the Seahawks (8-6) in their game against the Minnesota Vikings (12-2) that Seattle needs to win to keep pace with the Los Angeles Rams (8-6) for the NFC West title.
“Yes,” he said, “I do.”
Smith said he will be at less than full health with his knee, and elsewhere on his body.
“Yeah,” he said, “I mean, a lot of guys are less than 100%. I’ve been that way pretty much the majority of the season. That’s just the way the NFL goes.
“No excuses. Got to go out there and perform.
“I feel like I tolerate pain well.”
The Seahawks listed Smith as a full participant in practice Wednesday. Coach Mike Macdonald has said he expects Smith to take the majority of plays with the starting offense this week. Those are other signs he will play Sunday against the Vikings, who have won seven consecutive games.
Smith completed 15 of 19 passes with his league-leading fifth interception in the red zone this season before he got hurt with 5 1/2 remaining in the third quarter of the Packers game last Sunday. Seattle trailed 20-3 when he got hurt.
Smith said he was concerned he had a major injury.
“Yeah, that was definitely like one of those scary falls where I didn’t know what was going on,” he said. “But definitely didn’t feel stable enough to get back out there.”
As backup Sam Howell struggled mightily replacing him, Smith took his helmet from the bench area and attempted to re-enter the game late in the third quarter. That was after he’d gone into the locker room area for X-rays and a doctor’s examination of his knee and walked back out to the Seahawks’ sideline. He tried to jog back out then stopped, limping noticeably.
“Yeah, I was trying to (go back in the game),” Smith said. “Yeah, I was trying my best to get back out there.
“Just had to make a decision in that moment.”
Green Bay pass rusher Edgerrin Cooper rushed in on Smith and hit him low after he threw a harried pass incomplete in the short right flat to running back Zach Charbonnet. Cooper’s hit appeared to turn Smith’s entire leg.
Thursday, Smith was asked what he thought of the play.
“I mean, there’s a lot to be thought of,” he said. “They didn’t call the flag, so I’m not complaining.
“It is what it is.”
It was one of multiple times in the game Smith looked to referee Clete Blakeman wanting a penalty for late hits on the quarterback after he threw.
There were hits on Smith by the Packers that NFL referees, the on-field officials responsible to call late hits on quarterbacks, often call when it happens to, say, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes or Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson.
Early in the first quarter of the game Sunday night, Blakeman called Seahawks cornerback Tariq Woolen for a 15-yard personal foul for needlessly hitting Jordan Love in the back to the ground after Green Bay’s quarterback threw a short pass.
Thursday The News Tribune asked Smith, a 12-year veteran who’s three seasons into his first NFL starting gig since 2014, if he feels there’s a hierarchy of quarterbacks who get such calls above those who don’t.
“I mean, that’s a question for the refs. Honestly, that’s a question for the league,” Smith said. “But, you can look at cases where the same thing happens, some guy gets the call and some guy doesn’t.
“They’re humans. You know, we’ll leave it at that. But, yeah, I mean, it’s like the Jordan thing.”
That’s a reference to the presumed “Jordan Rules” during the Chicago Bulls’ dynastic runs in the 1990s NBA, where players got called for fouling the iconic Michael Jordan for actions that against anyone else would go uncalled.
“Maybe I’m not there yet,” Smith said. “Got to keep workin’.”
This story was originally published December 19, 2024 at 12:51 PM.
