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Friday Round-Up: Geno Smith Joins Jay Glazer's "Unbreakable" Mental Health Podcast

As the Seahawks kick off Mental Health Awareness Month, quarterback Geno Smith joined NFL Insider Jay Glazer to talk finding peace and solace.

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Good morning, 12s. Here's a look at what's out there today — Friday, May 5— about your Seattle Seahawks.

Geno Smith Joins The "Unbreakable" Podcast With Jay Glazer

With May being recognized as Mental Health Awareness Month, the Seahawks continue to push forth efforts to break stigmas and initiate conversations towards progress. Transparency is a key component in expressing feelings and emotions, and 2022 NFL Comeback Player of the Year Geno Smith has been outspoken about his journey to redemption in his career. This week, Smith joined FOX NFL Insider Jay Glazer on his “Unbreakable” podcast to discuss his mental health fight.

Smith finished the 2022 season with a trip to the playoffs and an invite to the 2022 Pro Bowl in Las Vegas. But the seven seasons prior to Smith's glory year weren't always positive, as the West Virginia alum hadn't been a full-time starter since 2014 with the New York Jets. Through all of Seattle's highs and lows in the 2022 season, the 10-year veteran became a face for the city of Seattle on-and-off the field. Smith discussed the struggles throughout his years as a backup for multiple teams, as well as how he stayed motivated.

"I would say early on, I wasn't very optimistic, I wasn't very positive," Smith told Glazer. "You know I was kind of caught in the 'Why me?' phase—it was kind of a freak-accident and how things happened when I lost my job. When I came in, I was struggling on the team. And I wasn't playing as well as everyone expected me to. So it created this kind of standoffish demeanor where it was like 'Me against the world,' and if you're not with me, then forget you. But what I learned over time is that's very counterproductive to your mental state. You don't want to be in a place of negativity; things just don't work well that way. Maybe for some, but not for me. So, what I chose to do was I chose to flip it. I said, 'You know what? It's not about the obstacle, it's about how I respond to it.' And so, if I truly embrace it and say, 'Hey, this is unique to me, this is what I need to get to that next level, whether it's mental or physical, this is what I need.'"

At some point between Smith's three previous league stops before joining Seattle, things changed.

"I would say I had my son," said Smith. "My son is three now, so I had a baby, I was turning 30. It's like the middle of my life, no longer a 20-year-old. Starting to mature a little bit more. Overall, I just took control. You know how they say take life by the horns? You really have to do that. Until you change your mindset, and say 'I'm really going to grab ahold of this thing, I'm going to execute and do everything in my power to make it exactly the way I envision it.' I stopped looking at things in a negative manner, I stopped looking at the obstacles as something negative. I like to say it's like resistance on a weight bar. You need it to get stronger, and the more resistance, the stronger you get. You don't just keep the same amount of weight, you add weight to get stronger. That's kind of how life is, you get pushback so that you can get stronger, so that you can push further."

Smith's spirit certainly isn't broken heading into the 2023 season, but the road to peace solace wasn't easy. Tune in to the entire 25-minute conversation between Glazer and Smith here.

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