Geno Smith wins PFWA’s Comeback Player of the Year, Most Improved Player awards

A double dip of accolades for the Seahawks quarterback.

Geno Smith wrote back, and the Pro Football Writers of America wrote in the Seattle Seahawks quarterback for a pair of well deserved awards.

The PFWA announced that Smith is not just the Comeback Player of the Year for 2022, but also Most Improved Player of the Year. He joins Jon Kitna and Ryan Tannehill as the only players to win both awards in the same season.

Smith went from a New York Jets draft bust and career backup to the Seahawks’ starting quarterback in 2022, replacing Russell Wilson after he was traded to the Denver Broncos. Unless your expectation of Geno was “to be as good as the best version of Russell Wilson,” he was one of the great on-field stories of the entire season. Smith threw for 30 touchdowns to just 11 interceptions, set a new Seahawks single-season franchise record with 4,282 passing yards, and led the entire NFL in completion percentage (69.8%).

Geno’s performance was a major reason the Seahawks made the playoffs with a 9-8 record, and he is in line for a big payday this offseason. Seattle’s goal is to re-sign him and keep him as the starter entering next season, but even if he isn’t on the team in 2023 he will go down as one of the most incredible stories in Seattle sports history.

Smith is also up for the NFL’s AP Comeback Player of the Year award, which will be announced on February 9th. Unfortunately the league doesn’t have an official Most Improved Player like we see in the NBA, and I believe that should change.

Congrats to Geno!