RENTON -- Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf used the occasion of a questioner referring to Geno Smith as underrated to make a point this week.
"Y'all been calling this man underrated for three years, and when is it going to stop?'' Metcalf said.
He went on to detail some of Smith's accomplishments saying, "Just seeing him go from a backup to a starter, I think it's just crazy because you go from Russell Wilson to Geno Smith and there's really no drop off in play."
Concluded Metcalf: "I don't think the underrated title should be used anymore."
It's hard to argue after Smith's late-game heroics Sunday to beat New England 23-20 in overtime prevented the Seahawks from joining the muddled mix of 14 other 1-1 teams in the NFL. They are one of just nine 2-0 teams.
Smith leading the Seahawks to first force a tie late in regulation and get the win in OT marked his ninth game-winning drive since 2022, the most in the NFL in that span.
Here's the thing -- it might be one of the best things that happened to the Seahawks that everyone in the league underrated Smith for years.
That includes the Seahawks themselves.
Carolina's decision this week to bench Bryce Young -- the No. 1 pick just one year ago -- serves as an instructive lesson in how hard it is even for those who make millions scouting football to identify an elite quarterback.
It makes it even more clear what a break the Seahawks caught that everybody missed the boat on Smith, who was there from 2017-22 for anyone to grab for around a league minimum salary.
It might be easy to forget that the Seahawks even cut Smith for a day in August, 2019, following his first training camp with the team. True, it was just a clerical roster move the Seahawks needed to make in the wake of the Jadeveon Clowney trade.
Because Smith was a vested veteran, he could not be claimed off waivers. So as the Seahawks have done with a few vets through the years, the team cut Smith with an agreement that he would quickly re-sign once the trade became official and a roster spot again became available.
Smith returned on the same minimum contract, $870,000.
Smith at the time said a few other teams did approach him offering a bit more money but that, "I didn't want to move.''
Even Smith's initial signing in 2019 was hardly filled with fanfare.
After starting just two games from 2015-18 with the Jets, Giants and Chargers, Smith was available for anyone to sign until May 15, 2019, when he agreed to a one-year minimum deal with the Seahawks becoming the third QB on the roster behind Russell Wilson -- who had just signed an extension that everyone involved touted as keeping him in town for the rest of his career -- and former first-round pick Paxton Lynch, who they had signed in January.
After winning the backup QB job, Smith didn't play in 2019 and saw only mop-up duty in 2020, each offseason again available to anyone for basically nothing.
He re-signed with the Seahawks in 2020 on May 14 to a one-year deal worth $1.1875 million, two months after Case Keenum signed a three-year, $18 million deal with $8 million guaranteed with the Cleveland Browns in the wake of going 1-7 with Washington.
Smith re-signed with the Seahawks in 2021 on a one-year, $1.2 million deal on April 22, essentially the same deal that the likes of A.J. McCarron signed that year with the Raiders, DeShone Kizer with the Titans, Blake Bortles with the Packers and Colt McCoy with the Giants.
Even in 2022, after Smith impressed replacing an injured Wilson in three starts in 2021, and the Seahawks dealt Wilson to Denver, Smith didn't get a deal done until April 14, signing a one-year deal with a base value of $3.5 million and another $3.5 million in incentives.
That deal included just $500,000 in fully guaranteed money at a time when the only other QBs the Seahawks had on the roster were Drew Lock and Jacob Eason. McCoy got $6 million guaranteed a month before to re-sign with Arizona.
Even after leading the NFL in completion percentage in 2022 and leading the Seahawks to a surprising 9-8 record and a playoff berth, the league still didn't seem to quite believe.
Smith is thought to have gotten some legitimate interest from Tampa Bay following the 2022 season, which in the wake of Tom Brady's retirement needed a new QB.
Smith and the Seahawks got their deal done shortly before the free agent signing period, with Smith agreeing to return on a three-year deal worth a base value of $75 million with $27.3 million guaranteed (Tampa Bay signed Baker Mayfield to a one-year, $4 million deal).
Five days after Smith signed his deal with the Seahawks, the Raiders signed oft-injured Jimmy Garoppolo to a three-year deal worth $72.75 million with $33.75 million guaranteed.
For that money the Raiders got a 3-3 record in six starts and a 7 to 9 touchdown-to-interception ratio before Garoppolo was benched in November and released in March.
The guaranteed money Garoppolo got from the Raiders alone almost matches the entire amount the Seahawks have paid Smith since he first signed with the team in 2019 -- $37.795 million, according to OvertheCap.com.
That amount is also just a little below the $37.95 million guaranteed that Young will make from Carolina whether he ever plays another game for the Panthers.
Smith no longer being underrated means the bill figures to finally come due for the Seahawks this offseason.
Smith's contract runs through the 2025 season but includes no more guaranteed money.
Smith earlier this month confirmed his reps approached the Seahawks earlier this year about a new contract and extension. Seahawks GM John Schneider said there have been no negotiations. That keeps with the team's precedent of not negotiating with players before they are entering the final year of their contract.
Smith is sure to want a new deal this offseason and both sides will likely work to get something completed by the time NFL free agency begins on March 12.
OvertheCap.com this week estimates Smith's current market value at $40.7 million per year and rising.
Much can happen in the 15 games that remain to impact that number one way or the other.
Those waiting for Smith to fall back to earth may at some point have to concede it may never happen now that he has a 37-game track record of consistency with the Seahawks.
It's a debate that Smith seems to no longer really care much about.
"I'm not really worried about that," he said Thursday when asked if he feels he's still being "slept on."
"Like I said, my goal is to keep being better every day. Not really worried about who's sleeping on me per se. I think the main thing is that I'm here with the guys who believe in me, and those are the guys inside this locker room, inside this building. Everything else to me doesn't matter."