Geno Smith trade should be lesson to not believe what teams say

The only information that professional sports teams will openly share with the media and fans is misinformation. They do it with injuries. They do it with who is starting the next game. They do it anywhere they can get an advantage or cloud what their actual plans are. 

In other words: Believe what teams do. Not what teams say. 

The Seattle Seahawks agreeing to trade Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders on Friday night is just the latest example of that.

It wasn't just a surprise that the Seahawks traded their starting quarterback without having a good in-house option ready to go. 

It was also a surprise that they traded him after the entire organization spent the early part of the offseason shouting from the Space Needle that they loved having Smith as their quarterback and that they were happy to have him.

Not only happy to have him, but that they could win a championship with him.

When speculation started to surface about whether or not Seattle saw Smith as their long-term option at quarterback, head coach Mike Macdonald went to bat for his quarterback, saying how much he wanted Smith there and that they love him as their starting quarterback. 

The exact wording: "We can win a championship with Geno Smith. We really believe that and can't wait to get back to work with him."

That is a very bold statement. 

New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak echoed a similar sentiment, going as far to say that Smith was a "huge draw" in him joining the Seahawks coaching staff. 

Now, only a few weeks later, Smith is set to become a Raider and the Seahawks are back to the drawing board on what they are going to do for their starting quarterback.

That does not mean the Seahawks made a bad decision. There is a strong argument to be made that perhaps Smith is not the long-term answer at quarterback, and that paying him what he would have wanted on his next contract could have been a negative drain on the roster and salary cap. If you are not sure you have a franchise quarterback, it's probably best not to pay an average player like they are a franchise quarterback.

Maybe Seattle comes out ahead in the long run. 

Maybe the Raiders make a mistake in paying Smith long-term.

All of that is entirely possible.

The takeaway here is simply that no matter how much a team talks up a player, and no matter what they tell you publicly, there is probably something else very different going on behind the scenes.

Believe actions. Not words.