Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith put in the time and effort to earn his way back to a starting position in the NFL. He credits the veterans he backed up over the years, including Russell Wilson, who he’ll now go head to head with when the Broncos come to town on Monday night.
“My time here with Russ was awesome,” Smith told reporters on Friday. ” . . . I really appreciated the time we spent together competing. We competed a bunch. You know whether it was in the classroom, weight room, on the field, and I think that made me better.
“And so just being around him and knowing the type of guy he is, the way he prepares, I learned a lot from that.”
But Smith knows the legacy Wilson left here in Seattle, leading the team to nine winning seasons, two Super Bowl appearances, and unmatched philanthropy throughout the Pacific Northwest. The Seahawks’ new starting QB understands it will be hard to ignore the noise.
“You can’t block that out, that would be a little naïve to say that,” Smith said. “I do understand everything that is going on around us. Russell was the man here for a while and I know there will be emotions on both sides, but I’m not caught up in that.
“I’m just focused on taking care of business.”
