Can Geno Smith Solve The Las Vegas Raiders’ QB Problem?

The Las Vegas Raiders have been not-so-secretly plying free agency and the Draft for a 2025 starting quarterback following a dismal season from their carousel of backup quarterbacks. On Thursday, this finally materialized, as the team traded for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith in what many have deemed a steal.

Unsurprisingly, this move reportedly involves releasing Gardner Minshew, whom Las Vegas signed to a two-year, $25 million contract in 2024. Minshew, 28, began the season in the starting role but struggled. He threw nine touchdowns and ten interceptions in the ten games he led the Raiders’ offense before suffering a broken collarbone in Week 12. The team went 2-8 with him at the helm.

Las Vegas doesn’t gain a ton of cap space by cutting Minshew—only around $3 million while maintaining over $10 million in dead cap—but it does cast off what has become increasingly clear is a liability. Even if the organization was confident there was an upward trajectory, Minshew’s three benchings in his first nine games established a low, low floor.

Prior to acquiring Smith, the Raiders made a run at Matthew Stafford, who elected to restructure his contract with the Los Angeles Rams instead. The organization reportedly prefers veteran quarterbacks, so the Smith deal makes sense.

Smith, 34, has one year at $31 million left on his contract, which saw him make the Pro Bowl twice in six years in Seattle. He’ll now reunite with head coach Pete Carroll, who coached the Seahawks in all but one of those six seasons.

On a lackluster 2024 Seahawks offense, Smith broke team records in passing yards and completion rate, posting 4,320 yards with 21 touchdowns for a completion percentage of 70.4%. He also lobbed 15 interceptions – good for third most in the NFL. Overall, though, Smith is a steady starting quarterback in a league where that’s an increasingly valuable commodity, which is why the return of a single third-round draft pick is controversial (read: a steal for the Raiders).

The acquisition of a veteran quarterback reads as consistent for a Raiders squad that just signed Maxx Crosby for a record $106 million. For a team that finished with a 4-13 record, Las Vegas is all in on “winning now.”

“We are trying to take it as far as we can as soon as we possibly can,” said Carroll at the NFL Combine. “I’m not looking for a grace period…. I don’t think that way at all.”

With the combination of Smith and Carroll, as well as Crosby and star tight end Brock Bowers entering his sophomore season, the Raiders should look better than they did last year. How much better, though, time will tell.