Seahawks' Geno Smith: Won't be released to avoid payment

The Seahawks informed Smith on Thursday that he'll remain on the roster through this week rather than be released to avoid a $12.7 million contract guarantee that kicks in Friday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Smith has two years remaining on the three-year, $75 million contract he signed last offseason, but the deal only had injury guarantees after the first year. His $12.7 million base salary for 2024 is one of those, converting to a full guarantee Feb. 16 (this Friday). Smith then has a $9.6 million roster bonus due March 17, and the Seahawks presumably wouldn't keep him around for now if they didn't also plan to pay that out and have the 33-year-old QB under contract for 2024.