The Las Vegas Raiders are set to release their quarterback, barring a trade materializing before the new league year.
The Las Vegas Raiders have the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL draft after going 3-14 in one of the worst seasons in franchise history and are expected to select Indiana Hoosiers quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza. As they prepare for that new era, they are set to put a firm end to the past one. ESPN reports that the Raiders are expected to release quarterback Geno Smith unless a trade materializes before the start of the new league year, which is Wednesday. The move would incur an $18.5 million dead money hit, but it would also free up $8 million in salary cap space. That’s not a negligible amount of dead salary cap money, but it would also keep Las Vegas from having to pay Smith an addition $8.5 million in guarantees as long as they release him before the third day of the new league year.
It was an unsuccessful reunion for the signal caller with former head coach Pete Carroll, who coached him for six years with the Seattle Seahawks. That didn’t exactly pan out in the new environment. Smith threw for 3,025 yards, 19 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. His interceptions were a league high and the highest Smith threw in a season since he was with the New York Jets in 2013, where he threw 21 picks.
Here is the full story from Raiders Roundtable writer Matt Wadleigh on the end of the relationship with Smith as he’s set to hit free agency.
It’ll be curious to see who Las Vegas will presumably pick up to mentor and compete with Mendoza and backup Aidan O'Connell, making it likely that they’ll recoup with another veteran signal caller.