By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

Geno Smith on re-signing with Seahawks, ” I always felt respected here “

  On Thursday Smith, head coach Pete Carroll and General Manager John Schneider held a press conference at the V Mac to celebrate Smith re-signing with the team.  In attendance were the Seattle media, Smith’s agent, Chafie Fields, President of Seahawks and First and Goal Chuck Arnold, and pretty much everyone in the building. The last four rows of the auditorium were filled with various Seahawks staff who were on hand to celebrate Geno’s big day.

Part of the reason  Geno Smith wanted to stay with the Seattle Seahawks and not test free agency was the respect he was shown by the organization.

“I’ve always felt respected in this organization. I think they do a great job. Coach (Pete) Carroll does a great job at relating to all the players, not just the star players or the guys drafted. Every single player on the roster, he has a relationship with and he respects and they respect him. So I’ve always felt that and now I’m just happy to get this past us.”

The incentive-laden contract Smith signed is team friendly and will reward Smith for another good. As long as Smith performs among the top-tier quarterbacks in the league next season he will be handsomely rewarded. Betting on himself is nothing to Smith who has spent all his life betting on himself and not comparing to other players.

“Yeah, incredible journey, I believe. Think about the draft and I had to sit and wait and then went to the Jets and things didn’t work out. I had to bounce team to team and try to find my way. Then I found this place and it kind of changed me. Coach (Pete) Carroll being so uplifting, so inspiring, he just forced me to believe more in myself and that in tune kind of brought us here today.”

So that entire journey, the 10 years that it took for me to just to get to this point means a lot. That’s the most rewarding part is that I was able to go through that and then be able to say, ‘Hey, even with all that, I was still able to get better and still become a better player.’ To get to this point is just incredibly fulfilling”

During the press conference Smith was asked if the team drafted a rookie quarterback would he a mentor or competitor to that player.

“I’ll say it’s both. I love to compete, so I compete with anybody, but I’m also going help them out as much as I can. The same as we did with Drew (Lock) and our QB room is so tight-knit and we’re so connected that we act as one. So, whether it’s a young guy or someone else,

I’m going to help that player, just like any other player on our team, be the best that he can be because that’s my job as a leader and that’s who I am at heart. I’m never going to withhold information. I’m always going to try and help guys get better, and so that’s what I want to do and if that happens then that’s the guy I’ll be.”

With a contract that gives him respect and the expectations that accompany it Smith was asked how he would approach training camp now that he is the designated starter from day one

“I would think the mentality has to stay the same. I have to have that mentality every day that I have to go earn it and there’s nothing more than that. But it’s the rep thing and I got a bunch of reps last year in camp. Coach did a great job at allowing me to get those reps with the guys, but it is a mentality thing and I have to continue to have that mentality, that chip on my shoulder, that edge because that’s what makes me a better player.”

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