Geno ‘better,’ plans to play despite knee injury

RENTON, Wash. — Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith plans to play this week against the Minnesota Vikings despite the right knee injury that kept him from finishing the team’s loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.

“I’m getting better every day,” Smith said Thursday. “Looking forward to Sunday.”

He later answered in the affirmative when asked whether he expects to play against Minnesota, which was already seeming likely after Smith was listed as a full participant in Wednesday’s practice.

Smith went down midway through the third quarter against Green Bay when he took a low hit from linebacker Edgerrin Cooper. Sam Howell played the rest of the game, though Smith hobbled back onto the sideline late in the third quarter, at one point appearing to be on the verge of returning to the game before he decided his knee didn’t feel stable enough.

“I was trying my best to get out there,” he said. “Just had to make a decision in that moment.”

As he was limping off the field, Smith was visibly upset at the low hit from Cooper, who later said he felt it was “100 percent” clean.

“Honestly, they didn’t call a flag,” Smith said Thursday, “so I’m not complaining. It is what it is.”

Before his injury, Smith was intercepted on a throw into the end zone intended for tight end Noah Fant. It was his 13th interception of the season compared to 14 touchdown passes, and his fourth pick in the red zone — tied for most in the NFL.

“I’m always going to say that I’ve got the ball, I’ve got the decisions to make, and whenever it’s an interception, it’s going to be graded as a negative decision,” Smith said. “If that guy doesn’t make that play and Noah catches a touchdown, then it’s a positive. So I think again, just focusing on the process, making sure I’m reading the right things, right keys and doing the right thing, and most importantly, protecting the football.”

The Seahawks, who are tied atop the NFC West with the Los Angeles Rams at 8-6 but have lost once to their division rivals, need to win Sunday in order to avoid losing control of their playoff fate.

“I really wanted to get back out there on Sunday, but these things happen; everybody’s going to fight through something, and I want to be the guy who’s known for pushing through,” Smith said. “So I want to finish the season on the right note. I want to make sure that we get every opportunity we can to close it out the right way.”