INGLEWOOD, Calif. — As far as money goes, Sunday's 30-25 win over the Los Angeles Rams may end up being the most lucrative of Geno Smith's career. The Seattle Seahawks quarterback hit three escalators — all worth $2 million — that he will pocket if he is still under contract with the team in mid-March.

The first was to finish the season with a completion rate over 69.755 percent. Check. The second was to surpass 4,282 passing yards on the season. Check. The third was to notch a 10th victory, which he did in style in the Seahawks' season finale.

The stat sheet says it was one of the best games the 34-year-old has ever played, with Smith finishing 20-of-27 passing for 223 yards and a career-high four touchdown throws. He added a fourth game-winning drive and fourth-quarter comeback to his season resume as well.

One problem: For the second straight year, that Week 18 game was meaningless for a Seahawks squad already eliminated from postseason contention. So to go back to that final line of the first paragraph ... IF he is still under contract with the team in mid-March.

It's a little bit hard to celebrate that 10th win when the Rams were resting the majority of their offensive starters while playing their defensive starters sparingly. It's a little difficult to revel in the completion percentage and yardage total when Smith entered the game with 15 interceptions against 17 touchdown passes.

Smith may be prolific — his 4,320 yards this season are among the top five in the NFL — but his mistakes factored heavily into the Seahawks' playoff-dooming seven losses. So some are asking whether they will bring him back for another year when they can save over $30 million by cutting him.

Even Geno. Kind of.

Smith spent most of his postgame news conference expressing two things: 1. his disappointment in not being able to compete for a championship, and 2. how the Seahawks are set up for big things to come.

"There's a lot of young guys on the offensive line, there's a lot of young guys on this team and this team is heading in the right direction," he said.

But, then came the following: "This team is on its way — and that's with or without me," Smith said.

With or without him? I asked him, based on those words, if he had thought about his future in Seattle.

"I got a bright future. I think you all can see that," Smith said. "And I believe we have a bright future together."

I'll come out and say the following. I am not sure how bright the Seahawks' future is. Yes, they won 10 games this season — a season in which they made copious unforced errors that cost them potential wins. But they also caught a lot of breaks, both in terms of facing injured opponents and watching foes make similar errors against them. The Seahawks missing the playoffs does not seem like an injustice.

But I also don't know that they can find a better quarterback than Smith next season. Not in free agency, and not with the 18th pick in the draft, which is where the Seahawks sit now.

Smith is not as valuable as peak Russell Wilson was before him. He can sling the ball as well as most QBs in the NFL, can deliver in the clutch and — as his sack-avoiding-spin-move turned 20-yard touchdown pass to DK Metcalf on Sunday proved — has All-Pro highlight reel abilities.

The turnovers, however, are not limited to this season. They're an issue. There just isn't someone markedly better on the market right now.

In Smith's defense, not all of those 15 interceptions were egregious or even his fault. There were multiple instances of receivers not completing their routes, one pick when Smith's arm was hit mid-throw, and another where a no-call holding penalty kept it out of tight end AJ Barner's hands and into a defender's instead. But there were also four red-zone interceptions and four end-zone interceptions. At some point the blame falls on the QB.

After the game, a reporter hearkened back to a conversation Smith had with Richard Sherman earlier in the season, when Smith told the former Seahawks cornerback: "I feel like I'm up there with the top-tier quarterbacks. My numbers speak for me."

Are you confident the Seahawks feel the same way?

"Yeah, I am," Smith said.

Can't say Smith is at the top yet. And his numbers indicate as much.

Doesn't mean the Seahawks can do better. Doesn't mean he can't still improve, either.

(c)2025 The Seattle Times Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.