$6 million man: Seahawks, Cowboys have plenty on line Sunday

After leading the Seahawks to a Week 1 win, Geno Smith said he wasn’t planning to write back to the people who wrote him off. Seattle might be planning to write to him, however. If things go his way Sunday, the team will owe him a $6 million check.

The Rams (10-6) already eliminated Seattle (9-7) entering their game at SoFi Stadium (4:25 p.m. ET, FOX), but should Smith start as expected and the Seahawks win, the quarterback is due a $2 million bonus for a 10^th win.

He’s also within reach of a $2 million incentive for establishing a career high in passing yards and another $2 million for topping his career best in completion percentage (69.76 in 2022). Smith enters Sunday with a 70.24 completion percentage and 4,097 yards, needing only 186 to beat his 2022 career mark, 4,282. Head coach Mike Macdonald said this week that Smith is expected to start and play the full game on Sunday.

Mike McCarthy wasn’t so clear, however. Quarterback Cooper Rush has a half-million reasons to play a full game when Dallas (7-9) hosts Washington (11-5) on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, FOX), but the Cowboys’ head coach could opt to play Trey Lance, giving the younger player snaps that would prove valuable to both Lance and the team as they look to the future.

Other contract incentives up for grabs this week include:

• Baker Mayfield has $1.5 million on the line against the Saints on Sunday (1 p.m., FOX). But the quarterback and his teammates are especially fighting for wide receiver Mike Evans. The future Hall of Famer needs just five catches and 85 receiving yards to secure a $3 million bonus for achieving 70 receptions and 1,000 receiving yards. Last week, he reached the first leg in that $3 million trio, 10 receiving touchdowns. Evans enters Sunday with 65 catches for 915 yards and 11 touchdowns.
• DeAndre Hopkins needs nine catches and 140 yards to earn $250,000 escalators for each accomplishment (65 receptions, 750 yards). And, just one touchdown catch on Sunday would be worth $500,000, although the wide receiver might join quarterback Patrick Mahomes and several other Chiefs out of uniform at Denver on Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS). On the other side, Denver’s Courtland Sutton stands just 82 yards from a $500,000 escalator for reaching 1,065 on the season. Sutton and the Broncos need a win to get into the playoffs.
• Titans running back Tony Pollard needs two rushing touchdowns against Houston on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS) to earn a $200,000 bonus for reaching seven on the season. He also needs 83 rushing yards to reach 1,100 and trigger another $250,000 bonus.
• Texans running back Joe Mixon (993) needs 107 rushing yards to reach 1,100 and cash in an additional $250,000.
• Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins needs 58 rushing yards at Las Vegas on Saturday (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS) to reach 900 on the year and earn a $150,000 incentive.
• Derrick Henry has 14 rushing touchdowns and needs one when the Ravens host Cleveland on Saturday (4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC) to reach 15 and trigger a $500,000 bonus. However, teammate Justice Hill (42 receptions for 383 yards) has an uphill battle to reach 50 catches and 500 receiving yards – worth $250,000 apiece. Hill (concussion/illness) has not practiced this week.
• Washington tight end Zach Ertz, who secured several incentives with last week’s game-winning touchdown, needs 90 receiving yards at Dallas this week to hit 700 on the season and earn another $250,000.

For more information on the Seahawks and Cowboys, visit the Seattle and Dallas team pages at ProFootballPost.com.