THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Where, oh where, is the Seahawks' next QB?

Where do you find a quarterback?

Well, first, we need a little background information in order to answer that question.

Is this a “bridge guy” to play for a year or two while you build out the rest of the roster — or are you hunting for your next generational QB, the star who ultimately takes you to the Super Bowl?

Or, will you sign someone in the middle, a short-term guy who can play pretty well at a decent price who might take you further than expected — like Jared Goff in Detroit.

Realistically, Geno Smith falls into that decent-but-limited category and, unlike Goff, he doesn’t have such a talented young team around him.

In the case of the Seahawks, there are some other factors involved in this puzzle that weren’t in play just a couple of years ago.

The big one, obviously, is that Pete Carroll is no longer running the show, and former Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald has inherited the headset.

GM John Schneider, who worked with Carroll on personnel issues for a decade (as Pete’s No. 2), is now in charge — and Schneider is considered around the league as an exec who somehow has a “special feel” for quarterbacks.

SO, ARE the Seahawks satisfied with Smith (who’s soon to be 34) remaining in charge of the offense and, if so, for how long?

Do they feel that Geno Smith can lift a team — a roster with some obvious holes but also blessed with excellent skill players, to the land of Super Bowl contenders?

Or, in the words of Robert Mays, NFL analyst for The Athletic, do you accept that there is an entire new tier of QBs?

“I’d call it middle class,” Mays said. “Guys who are, like, between 14 and 24 in ranking league quarterbacks.”

Mays and Athletic podcast partner Nate Tice suggest that proof of this middle tier can be found in their bank statements.

“Kirk Cousins gets $180 million over four years (with $100 million guaranteed) from the Falcons,” Tice said. “That’s a team with some talent, so the idea is that Cousins has a two-year window to win.

“These guys like Cousins, Geno, (Derek) Carr are OK, they’re professionals. But it’s hard to see them winning championships.

Tice makes a comparison to Seattle.

More or less.

“We’re talking teams that win nine or 10 games, and that’s about the limit,” he said.

Mays mentioned a problem that catches up with teams who take a shot with decent (but not spectacular) quarterbacks on contracts from two to four years.

“What happens when you get some real talent across the roster, and you want to pivot away from this season-to-season quarterback routine? When you want to win?

“Where’s the off ramp when you’re drafting 15th or 20th? Sure, lightning can strike like Tom Brady in some lower round, but you sure don’t want to count on it.

“Free agency can be better if you find a guy who’s in the wrong situation and sees that you have talent — maybe Cousins will hit it in Atlanta this year — but that plan is hardly a cinch, either.

“The truth is that if you’re in the middle and you need a quarterback to run a real good team, maybe you sell your soul in draft picks to move up for the guy you want.

“But you’d better get that draft choice right. It can’t be Trey Lance.”

IT ISN’T quite correct to say that the Seahawks have an opening at quarterback.

Geno is definitely the incumbent. On the other hand, the position isn’t exactly locked down, either.

When Macdonald was asked specifically if the organization was searching for Smith’s successor, he gave a long, rambling answer that only had meaning if you waited to the very last sentence.

“We will have competition for every position,” he said, “and that includes quarterback.”

At the moment, Smith is the only QB under contract who has taken a meaningful snap.

Former backup Drew Lock signed with the New York Giants as a free agent.

One or more quarterback will have to come from somewhere — draft (Seattle picks 16th in the first round), trade, free agency — if there’s going to be competition.

The fan base is hoping for somebody new, perhaps a draftee who would learn from Smith this season and then take over.

There are some glamor QBs in this draft, but the top trio likely will go 1-2-3.

Then you have Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, who has shot up draft boards since the NFL combine (but might be available via trade), and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr.

Scouts are decidedly mixed on Penix, but the Hawks have inside information — since offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb held that same role the past two seasons with the Huskies.

FYI, Macdonald got a close look at McCarthy when the coach spent one year on the staff at Michigan.

Then you have Schneider’s alleged gift of knowing how any quarterback might develop as a pro — a talent that was on display when he told club insiders about Patrick Mahomes well before the world (and the Chiefs) caught up.

Schneider made a lot of the same claims about Josh Allen after he’d gone to watch him in the wilds of Wyoming.

Seattle didn’t need a quarterback when Mahomes and Allen showed up in the draft, but there’s an opening for THE future star right now.

Schneider and Macdonald are going to find a quarterback from someplace.

Bet on it.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

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.”