THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: What will Seahawks do? Only Pete and John know

Can you picture the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, with Geno Smith at quarterback?

More important than that …

Do you think Pete Carroll and John Schneider can picture it?

The Hawks have come to a spot — just ahead of the new league business year on March 15 and then the draft in late April — where it seems quarterbacks are going to be moving around as though everyone’s playing a game of musical chairs.

Let’s start with the basics here.

Seattle does not have a quarterback under contract.

Smith and backup Drew Lock are both free agents, and although both have made little purring noises to indicate they’d like to stay with the Seahawks, there are plenty of QB-needy teams who might be willing to throw serious money at Smith.

There are more quarterback ranking systems than you could probably read in your lifetime, so I’ll spare you the trouble.

When you blend all the numbers and scouting reports, Geno winds up about eighth among NFL quarterbacks.

Considering that he’ll be 33 during the 2023 season and has started just 18 games for the Seahawks, that’s rare air.

IN OTHER words, Seattle is not going to cut some kind of wage deal with Smith that matches the late shift at Starbucks.

Most people around the league suspect that — assuming Geno wants to stay put as he’s been saying — the Seahawks will need to give him a two- or three-year deal worth about $35 million per season.

If it’s a three-year agreement, the money for the last year likely would not be guaranteed.

OK, if Geno’s happy and the Seahawks are satisfied with that sort of deal, we go back to the original question …

Is Geno Smith an elite quarterback who could lead the Hawks into the Super Bowl if he’s surrounded by enough talent?

Just one year ago, that idea would have been greeted with howls of laughter.

Now, not so much.

There are still major question marks about how far Geno can take you, though.

His success in 2022 covered exactly 18 games — not exactly a long and true career on which a team would wager its future.

Next, his age is a bit of a worry.

By the time the Hawks have the studs they need to win the NFC, Smith could be 35 or 36.

That’s kind of late in a career to learn the art of winning massive games under the brightest lights.

It’s certainly an odd way to start a dynasty.

Just to put things in perspective, Lock is 26 — and Carroll has raved about how well he’s picked up coordinator Shane Waldron’s system.

Frankly …

I’ve wondered all along if Carroll and Schneider would be OK with a situation where Geno grabs a big package elsewhere, and they get a bargain-basement deal on Drew Lock.

WHY DOES that make any sense?

Well …

The key to taking that route is that Seahawks have five picks among the first hundred selections in the draft – and critically, they’re sitting on No. 5 overall.

There are executives across the NFL who would tell you that quarterbacks get to title games.

Period.

Look at this year’s Super Bowl — Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts finished 1-2 in the league MVP voting.

Many of these same GMs and personnel people would swear that you can’t let the No. 5 pick get away without landing your future franchise quarterback.

By the way, IF the Seahawks went that route, they’d hopefully have a future star on a rookie contract — working with Smith (if they can afford it) or Lock for a year or two.

That’s exactly what the Chiefs did with Mahomes, by the way — sat him down and let him learn the gig from veteran Alex Smith.

IS THAT actually possible in Seattle?

It all depends on how Carroll and Schneider rate the draft-eligible QBs.

Bryce Young from Alabama will be the first quarterback taken, but after that …

There really isn’t a consensus.

Or, as Schneider put it during a Seattle radio show: “Everyone is lying. It’s like a poker game.

My guess is that the Seahawks fancy Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud — but when the smoke has cleared from draft-day trades, Stroud might go to the Colts in the No. 4 spot.

Would Seattle, with Schneider’s long history of trading down to add more picks, actually trade UP a spot to get Stroud?

If they admire any of the other QBs (Will Levis, Anthony Richardson, even Fresno State’s Jake Haener – a serial winner who was the Senior Bowl MVP), the Seahawks have the ammo to grab almost anyone they want.

Most mock drafts have Seattle selecting freak edge rusher Tyree Wilson from Texas Tech at No. 5, which makes sense.

But Schneider has pulled rabbits from hats in the past.

Don’t be shocked if he turns the whole plan upside down.

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Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”