Yeah people used a similar argument in regard to Geno saying the team wanted him back but that's not the case. It was obvious they already knew the minimum Geno's camp would take and offered well below that knowing it was never going to happen. It's all surfacy stuff to save face and play the game. John couldn't wait to move on from Geno because he knew the moment they're in now wasn't going to happen unless they took a swing and did something different. Minnesota knew a 1 year deal with a 1st round QB in camp wasn't going to get Darnold either but they can tell their fans they tried and people buy it. This is a business and they're talking to agents all year.
You are contradicting virtually everything that's been said regarding that situation. Even Hasselbeck today, who knows the goings-on inside the Hawks said it was Geno that screwed up the deal and miscalculated his future prospects rather than the FO wanting him gone.
Here is the simple fact. John and Mike prefer a guy at QB who can do what is necessary to win and don't NEED the QB (nor for financial reasons want the QB) to be a high end thrower of the ball who would look to be paid top dollar.
Geno saw himself as someone who was on the path to be a higher dollar guy. That calculation didn't fit John's formula nor Mike's , 12 as 1 philosophy. When that was made plain, Geno asked to be traded.
Being the savvy GM that he is, he targeted the guy that DID fit the formula in Sam and the move has paid dividends.
Geno's immaturity and lack of judgement (two things that have changed him his entire NFL career) did him in here. And that flaw no doubt made it easier to grant his wishes, given how entirely selfless the culture is in this team.
This isn't new with John. At both contract extensions with Russ, Pete was the one who lobbied for Russ and made it happen. It came out later that John was far less enthusiastic about paying Russ where he was paid and when he could, was looking for backup plans to move on a good while before he was actually traded.
It has turned out that Sam has worked out perfectly as a pivot from where they were with Geno. To try to spin it as though they were looking for someone 'better' than the guy they had from a football / QB play perspective... the evidence clearly contradicts that.