The Las Vegas Raiders need a new starting quarterback to play for their new head coach. Despite Pete Carroll having worked with Geno Smith on the Seattle Seahawks in the last few years, the overall likelihood of them reuniting in Las Vegas is rather slim. This is because Seattle thinks the world of Smith. Carroll's successor Mike Macdonald believes his team can win big with Smith as their starter.
Smith is firmly in his mid-30s. 2025 will be his age-35 season out of West Virginia. It will also be the final year of his Seahawks contract. Smith is slated to make over $44 million is base salary, roster bonus and other financial incentives next fall. If he were to be released, he would carry a $13.5 million hit in dead cap, serving as a cap hit of $44.5 million for Seattle. Obviously, they will want to keep him.
Here is what Macdonald had to say to the local media in Seattle about Smith's status with the team.
“Geno is our quarterback. It’s pretty obvious this guy is a heck of a quarterback. He’s our quarterback. We love him. Can’t wait to go to work with him," said Macdonald, h/t RaidersWire.
From the looks of it, the timing is not right for Smith to reunite with Carroll in Las Vegas. He has earned a new contract, and probably wants some long-term security on his new deal. Seattle often finds itself picking in the middle of the NFL Draft. With his improved play in the last few years, Seattle is closer to a playoff team than one picking inside the top 10 in most instances. He keeps them viable.
Because the Raiders need to solve its quarterback issue this offseason, Smith feels like a long shot.
Geno Smith-Pete Carroll reunion on Las Vegas Raiders is not very likely
For Smith to go to Las Vegas, it would require the Seahawks feeling comfortable enough to move on from him in favor of either drafting someone, signing someone in NFL free agency or orchestrating another trade for him. This feels too farfetched with the amount of money he is slated to make on the final year of his deal with the Seahawks. The Raiders do make poor decisions, but they will not do this.
In an ideal world, reuniting Smith with Carroll could help dramatically improve the Raiders' fortunes overnight. Smith was always an incredibly talented player coming out of West Virginia, but it took someone who believed in him like Carroll for that previously untapped potential to be realized. Unfortunately for Las Vegas, it seems as though Macdonald remains a steadfast believer in him, too.
If I were the Raiders, I would move heaven and earth to get inside of the top two of the 2025 NFL Draft so that I could have former Colorado Buffaloes star Shedeur Sanders be the new face of my franchise. He fits the Raiders' rebel brand quite well. If moving up to get him seems impossible, then I would make it a priority to sign a stop-gap like Justin Fields or Russell Wilson to serve as the bridge.
If Smith was a free agent, then I think him suiting up for the Raiders would feel infinitely more likely.