Geno Smith To Visit With Seahawks
Free-agent quarterback Geno Smith is set to visit with the Seahawks, a source told Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News. It’ll be the second visit for Smith, who met with the Chargers earlier this week but left without a deal. 
The Seahawks are in need of some depth behind Russell Wilson after parting ways with backup quarterback Trevone Boykin earlier this week. Boykin was arrested Wednesday on charges of aggravated assault stemming from an incident earlier this month. Russell Wilson currently stands as the only quarterback on the Seahawks’ roster. Austin Davis was the only other quarterback on the team’s active roster outside of Wilson last season and remains a free agent.
Smith, 27, has spent his entire career in New York, with the first four years of his career spent with the Jets and last season spent as the backup for Eli Manning and the Giants. Smith wound up making a start last season as Eli Manning’s consecutive starts streak came to an end in controversial fashion. He appeared in two games in total, completing 58.3% of his passes while throwing a touchdown without an interception.
The Jets took Smith in the second round of the 2013 draft out of West Virginia. He started 29 games through his first two seasons but was relegated to backup duties behind Ryan Fitzpatrick in 2015 before departing the Jets.
Contract Details: Gore, Osweiler, Waddle
Some details on recent free agent deals:
- Brock Osweiler, QB (Dolphins): One year, $880K ($790K base salary + $90K signing bonus). $630K guaranteed (Twitter link via Mike Klis of 9 News Denver).
- Frank Gore, RB (Dolphins): One year, $1.105MM. $90K signing bonus (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of NFL.com).
- LaAdrian Waddle, OT (Patriots): One year, $1.5MM. Includes $800K base salary, $200K signing bonus, $50K workout bonus and $450K in per-game roster bonuses (Twitter link via Mike Reiss of ESPN).
- Tom Johnson, DT (Seahawks): One year, $2.1MM. Includes $950K base salary, $900K signing bonus, $250K in per-game active roster bonuses (Link Via Brady Henderson of ESPN).
- Shamar Stephen, DT (Seahawks): One year, $2.1MM. Includes $800K base salary, $1MM signing bonus and $300K in per-game active roster bonuses (Link Via Brady Henderson of ESPN).
Trevone Boykin Arrested For Aggravated Assault
Former Seahawks quarterback Trevone Boykin was arrested and booked into the Mansfield Law Enforcement Center in Mansfield, Texas on charges of aggravated assault with serious bodily injury, WFAA in Dallas reports (Twitter link). 
The charges stem from a March 21 incident during which Boykin allegedly assaulted his girlfriend Shabrika Bailey. She claims that an extremely violent incident with Boykin left her with a broken jaw and a constricted airway, resulting in a lengthy hospital stay. She also says that this was not a one-time event.
According to the police report, Mansfield Police Officers responded to a call at Parkland Hospital in Dallas about the alleged incident on March 21. The following day, detectives executed a search warrant at the location of the offense and gathered items of evidence. During the investigation, the detectives observed cameras inside the residence that may have captured the assault and removed a recording device that was connected to the cameras. After obtaining a search warrant for the contents of the camera, the detectives reviewed the footage on Wednesday which appeared to detail an assault. Boykin was arrested later that day and his bond has yet to be set.
The Seahawks released the quarterback on Tuesday after the allegations surfaced. Boykin responded to the allegations on Tuesday:
“I understand the Seahawks’ decision to release me. The story that was reported casts a bad light on the organization and on me. I want to be clear that the story is false,” Boykin said (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). “The police have taken statements from the accuser, another witness, and me. All of these statements confirm that I was not involved in the physical altercation. This woman has lied about me and it has cost my job. I know guilt by association is real. This person has fabricated a story and I am suffering the consequences. I will let the legal system run its course and I know I will be vindicated.”
This marks the third arrest for Boykin in a little over a year. On March 27, 2017, he was arrested for suspicion of public intoxication and marijuana possession. On April 6, authorities picked up Boykin on a possible parole violation.
Boykin was with the Seahawks for his entire NFL career and was slated to return for another season as Russell Wilson‘s backup. He won’t be doing that now and, if the allegations are proven to be true, it is extremely unlikely that he’ll ever play in the league again.
Seahawks CB Justin Coleman Signs RFA Tender
Seahawks cornerback Justin Coleman has signed his second-round restricted free agent tender, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link). 
Coleman was one of 14 NFL restricted free agents to be tendered at the second-round level, and he’s the third — following Falcons guard Ben Garland and Jaguars running back Corey Grant — to officially sign his tender. There was no rush for Coleman to ink his tender, as RFAs have until April 20 to work out offer sheets with other clubs. However, it was unlikely that any NFL team would have been willing to sacrifice a second-round pick in order to land Coleman.
After spending two seasons in New England, Coleman was traded to Seattle in the 2017 offseason for a seventh-round pick in 2018. Mainly serving as a nickel back with the Seahawks, Coleman impressed when he was on the field, recording two interceptions and returning both of them for touchdowns.
Coleman is expected to slot back as the nickel in 2018, despite the release of veterans Richard Sherman and DeShawn Shead earlier in free agency.
Mark Sanchez A "Possibility" For Seahawks
- At the owners’ meetings, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter link) heard Mark Sanchez‘s name “as a possibility” for the Seahawks. Someone like Sanchez could serve as a veteran backup to Russell Wilson now that Trevone Boykin is out of the picture.
Seahawks Meet With CB Kenneth Acker
The Seahawks are still looking to add to their revamped secondary. On Wednesday, they hosted former Chiefs cornerback Kenneth Acker for a free agent visit, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 
Acker, 26, spent the first two years of his career with the Niners before being traded to the Chiefs in 2016. Although he was a starter in ’15 with San Francisco, he has not been a first string player since. Acker appeared in just nine games with KC in 2016 but saw time in each of the Chiefs’ 16 regular season games in 2017, as well as their Wild Card round loss to the Titans.
Last year, Acker recorded 19 total tackles and one interception. His 210 snaps were not enough to qualify for Pro Football Focus’ rankings, but with a larger sample size, he would have ranked 91st in the NFL. Needless to say, Acker would not be in the mix for a starting job in Seattle, but he could offer help off of the bench.
As of this writing, the Seahawks’ top corners are Justin Coleman (who will likely remain with the team following a second-round tender) and Shaquil Griffin. Free agent Byron Maxwell, who quietly had a solid season in seven games with Seattle, remains unsigned.
Mike Davis Contract Details
- Running back Mike Davis‘ new one-year deal with the Seahawks is worth $1.35MM, reports Brady Henderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Davis received a $350K signing bonus — the only guaranteed portion of the contract — an can earn $200K in per-game roster bonuses. Seattle opted not to tender Davis a restricted free agent, but will now retain at a cost about $600K cheaper than the lowest RFA tender. Davis, 25, is part of complicated Seahawks’ backfield that also includes Chris Carson, J.D. McKissic, and C.J. Prosise.
Trevone Boykin Denies Allegations
On Tuesday, the Seahawks released quarterback Trevone Boykin following horrifying allegations of domestic violence from his girlfriend. In response, Boykin has released a statement denying that he was involved in a physical altercation with Shabrika Bailey last week. 
“I understand the Seahawks’ decision to release me. The story that was reported casts a bad light on the organization and on me. I want to be clear that the story is false,” Boykin said (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). “The police have taken statements from the accuser, another witness, and me. All of these statements confirm that I was not involved in the physical altercation. This woman has lied about me and it has cost my job. I know guilt by association is real. This person has fabricated a story and I am suffering the consequences. I will let the legal system run its course and I know I will be vindicated.”
Bailey claims that an extremely violent incident with Boykin left her with a broken jaw and a constricted airway, resulting in a lengthy hospital stay. She also says that this was not a one-time event.
Needless to say, Boykin will not be on the radar for NFL teams while matters are hashed out in court.
Seahawks Release QB Trevone Boykin
The Seahawks have released quarterback Trevone Boykin, the team announced. This comes on the heels of accusations of domestic violence from girlfriend Shabrika Bailey. 
“So he goes into a choke. I remember him choking me and I’m trying to calm him down. And I just couldn’t. And I blacked out. I just couldn’t calm him down at all,” Bailey said as she described a violent scene from last Tuesday night with Boykin (via WFAA). “The pressure was just hard. The pressure got hard to where I just remember just collapsing completely. And I just woke up in a puddle of blood on the kitchen floor. My whole right side was full of blood on the kitchen floor.”
Bailey went on to explain that Boykin dragged her to the bathtub, took off her clothes, and tried to clean her up. Hours later, he brought her to the hospital, but fled when hospital staff separated the couple and began asking questions about the incident. Bailey was left with a broken jaw on both sides and had to be transported to a different hospital for treatment on her swollen and constricted airway.
Boykin has been in some hot water before, including an arrest last year for marijuana possession and public intoxication after Bailey reversed her car at a high speed, hit pedestrians on the sidewalk, and crashed into a bar. Bailey was hit with a host of charges, including a felony. Now, Bailey says that the crash happened after Boykin leaned over from the passenger side and choked her unconscious, causing the car to go into reverse. Boykin was also previously under probation for striking a police officer in late 2015.
Boykin was with the Seahawks for his entire NFL career and was slated to return for another season as Russell Wilson‘s backup. He won’t be doing that now and, if the allegations are proven to be true, it is extremely unlikely that he’ll ever play in the league again.
NFC West Rumors: Seahawks, Cardinals, OBJ
The Seahawks are now without stars Richard Sherman, Michael Bennett, Jimmy Graham, and Sheldon Richardson as well as up-and-coming wide receiver Paul Richardson, but GM John Schneider is insistent that the team is not in rebuilding mode.
“It’s just always very, very hard to make those decisions to move on from people, but that’s what we have to do in order to be a consistent championship-caliber football team,’’ Schneider said (via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times). “We don’t want to be having these major rebuilding years. We want to be able to have little re-sets, if you will.”
Last year, the Seahawks went 9-7 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2011. It certainly feels like there’s a changing of the guard in the NFC West thanks to the Rams, but Seattle will push to get back on top this year, despite the cap crunch.
Here’s more from the NFC West:
- Cardinals’ head coach Steve Wilks said he expects doctors to clear running back David Johnson (wrist) in time to be ready for OTAs (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). Johnson was arguably the league’s best offensive player in 2016 as he posted more than 2,100 yards from scrimmage and scored 20 total touchdowns.
- The Cardinals don’t have any interest in Odell Beckham Jr., according to Mike Jurecki of 98.7 FM (on Twitter). As good as OBJ is, the Cardinals are wary of his contract situation. The wide receiver is slated to earn about $8.5MM in 2018, but he’s pushing for a new deal that would put him at the top of the market for his position. That may mean a salary of $17MM per year or more.