For the first time in more than a decade, the will have a new quarterback under center when the season starts and that QB will be .Following the Seahawks' 27-26 preseason lo s to the on Friday night, Pete Carroll opened up his postgame pre s conference by officially naming Smith the starter for Seattle's regular season opener against the ."Geno's going to start the opener," Carroll . "He's Grant Haley Jersey earned it. He's won the job."In a twist, Smith's opening day start will come against the quarterback he's replacing: . The former Seahawks quarterback, who spent 10 seasons in Seattle (2012-21) . Smith's opening day start will mark the first time since 2011 that a quarterback not named Ru sell Wilson was under center for the Seahawks in Week 1. Eleven Robert Rochell Jersey years ago, was the starting quarterback for a Seahawks team that would eventually finish 7-9.The Seahawks held an open competition for the QB job this year, but from the first day of training camp, it felt like it was Smith's job to lose. As recently as Wednesday, Carroll had made it clear that Smith was the front-runner for the job going into the preseason finale against the Cowboys."Geno's been the guy in the lead position the whole time, and I've protected that thought throughout," Carroll said Wednesday, . "He's done a really nice job. Jake Funk Jersey He's been very consistent." If Lock had any chance of winning the job with an impre sive showing against the Cowboys, he threw it away early. The former Broncos QB was picked off on his second throw of the game and ended up finishing the night with three interceptions. As for Smith, he played just one po se sion and threw for 43 yards while leading the Seahawks to a field goal.Lock mi sed a chunk of practice last week -- along with the Seahawks second -- after coming down with COVID, and Carroll admitted that the lost time factored into his decision."The time frames got me sed up for us for Drew," Carroll said. "He just ran out of Bobby Brown III Jersey time in making his bid for it. On Smith's end, he'll be making a Week 1 start for the first time since 2014 when he played for the . Smith was the team's full-time starter for two seasons after being selected with the 39th overall pick in 2013."I'm thankful for the opportunity and grateful," Smith . "I have a lot of work ahead of me. That was my mindset from the start. It's just getting ready to out there and win games. This is just step one in that proce s. It's really about winning and none of this will matter if we don't go out and win the games we're supposed to win."When it comes to the QB battle, one big thing working in Smith's favor was his familiarity with the system in Seattle Austin Corbett Jersey . Not only has Smith been with the Seahawks since 2020, but he also started three games last season while Ru sell Wilson was out with an injury. "Geno, he knows our stuff and he does really well and he understands it and he commands everything that we're doing," Carroll said, . "He'll give us the best chance to play great football right off the bat."After backing up Wilson for two seasons, Smith will now get to face off against him when the Broncos travel to Seattle for a Monday night showdown in Week 1.