The Las Vegas Raiders answered their most pressing personnel question of the offseason Friday by acquiring quarterback Geno Smith in a trade with Seattle and reuniting him with his former coach, a person with knowledge of the deal told the Associated Press on Friday.
The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because the teams hadn’t announced the trade, said the Raiders are sending the Seahawks a third-round pick for Smith.
The 34-year-old, two-time Pro Bowler reunites with new Raiders coach Pete Carroll in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, the Seahawks will seek a new starter.
Smith threw for 4,320 yards and 21 touchdowns with 15 interceptions last season and will be the clear favorite to be the starter when Las Vegas opens its season, even if the club selects a quarterback in next month’s draft.
Because the Raiders pick sixth, they almost certainly wouldn’t be in position to select Miami quarterback Cam Ward and might not be able to pick Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. If Sanders is available, the Raiders could select him and follow the path of the Atlanta Falcons, who last year signed free agent Kirk Cousins and drafted Michael Penix Jr with the eighth pick.
The Raiders also could take a quarterback later in the draft, such as Alabama’s Jalen Milroe. Or they could pass on a quarterback altogether and go with a QB room that includes Smith and Aidan O’Connell, who ended each of the past two seasons as the starter but didn’t show he was capable of making the Raiders a contender in an AFC West that last season sent three teams to the playoffs.
All except the Raiders, who went 4-13 and fired coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco.
Carroll hopes to find the kind of success he experienced when he resurrected Smith’s career by giving him a home in Seattle in 2019. Smith had lost his starting job with the New York Jets and spent one season each with the New York Giants and Los Angeles Chargers.
Even in Seattle, he didn’t make an immediate impact.
But Carroll turned to Smith in 2022, and the QB led the league by completing 69.8% of his passes while throwing for 4,282 yards and 30 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. He was named the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year.
The Seahawks had winning records in all three seasons with Smith behind center.
Trading for Smith is the latest in a series of moves the Raiders have made this offseason, including this week.
They signed defensive end Maxx Crosby on Wednesday to the richest contract for a non-quarterback in league history. He received a three-year extension worth $106.5m, with $91.5m guaranteed, to keep him in Las Vegas through the 2029 season.
Signing Crosby and trading for Smith are the clearest signs of a change in direction under new leadership that includes Carroll, general manager John Spytek and minority owner Tom Brady.
Whether that results in a playoff berth this season is another question, especially if the Raiders expect Smith to compete in a division that includes quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert and Bo Nix.
Smith going to the Raiders also takes away a potential landing spot for Aaron Rodgers, who is looking for a new team after the New York Jets announced they would release him.
