On Monday night, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith will become the first NFL quarterback in 50 years to log an eight-year gap between season-opening starts. Originally selected by the New York Jets in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft, Smith has had quite the journey back into the spotlight.
“It was just the hard work and I understand that there has been a gap,” Smith said during his Friday press conference. “But I’ve never lost confidence in my ability or the things that I can do on the field. My first two years I had some really great games and put a lot of great things on tape. But I was able to grow over that course of that time just being with Eli Manning and Philip Rivers and then obviously being here with Russell.”
Smith has now come full circle, preparing to square off Monday night against the quarterback he was relegated to back up over the last three seasons. For Smith, his time over the years on the bench was all about the valuable lessons learned.
“All three of them are Hall of Fame quarterbacks in my opinion,” Smith continued. “And being in the room with those guys and just learning football, being in different football systems, being around different coordinators, I was able to gain a ton of knowledge.
“That really was the most important thing to me other than anything else.”
Smith and his Seahawks are set to kick off against the Broncos Monday at 5:15 p.m. PT.
