NFL fans speculate over Geno Smith's cryptic tweet amid Raiders rumors: "Leaving Seattle for Las Vegas?" 

On Monday, Seattle Seahawks star Geno Smith sent social media into a frenzy with a cryptic post on X/Twitter. The quarterback posted a famous GIF featuring Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James walking out of a press conference.

The veteran has only one year left on his contract with the Seahawks and has been negotiating a contract extension with the franchise. However, his post, which had no caption and did not precede or follow any reports, prompted fans on social media to speculate that talks between the quarterback and the front office hadn't gone smoothly and he was hinting at an exit from Seattle:

Some were convinced that the quarterback was leaving the Seahawks to reunite with former head coach Pete Carroll in Las Vegas:

"Leaving Seattle for Las Vegas?" @BoltUpYo wrote.

"Come to the raiders and bring yo cousin Jermiah Smith," @Chino added.

"My Goat Geno to the Raiders?" @JarvisCards said.

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Geno Smith leaving Seahawks? QB made his stance clear on future

After the Seahawks' final game of the season, Geno Smith alluded that he wants to stay in Seattle but would be open to leaving the team if the front office doesn't deem him worthy of an extension. In his post-game press conference, he said:

“There’s a lot of young guys on the offensive line, there’s a lot of young guys on this team and this team is heading in the right direction... This team is on its way — and that’s with or without me. I got a bright future. I think you all can see that. And I believe we have a bright future together.”

The ball is in the Seahawks' court. And it's also in their best interest to hand Smith an extension. Seattle is $19.3 million over the cap limit. The quarterback's current deal carries a $44 million cap hit for the 2025 season, which they can reduce substantially by offering him a contract extension.

They could cut him before March 16th, when he's due to receive a $10 million roster bonus, and reduce the cap hit to $13.5 million. However, the Seahawks will then be left without a starting quarterback, while Smith, who threw for 4,320 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions last season despite playing behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league, will have little trouble finding a team to play for.

The Seahawks have less than three weeks to decide whether to retain the veteran signal-caller without giving him a new deal and risk him holding out, hand him the massive contract extension he's seeking, or cut him.