The Las Vegas Raiders quarterback situation isn’t what general manager John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll expected it to look like this season.
After trading for quarterback Geno Smith and signing him to a massive two-year extension, his play doesn’t look anything like it did with the Seattle Seahawks when he won Comeback Player of the Year in 2022.
Of course, he’s a couple years removed from that impressive season and is now 35-years-old, but the vision was that Smith could anchor the offense and feed the Raiders’ top target Brock Bowers.
One problem is Bowers hasn’t been healthy for much of the season and it’s no secret how much impact he has when he is on the field making plays. Smith’s best performances this season are when Bowers is healthy.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell believes Smith is likely on his way out after just one disappointing season in Las Vegas.
“It would be a surprise if Smith made it to a second season with the Raiders as the starting quarterback. But there are explanations that can be made for his struggles,” Barnwell wrote Thursday. “Smith hasn't had a healthy Brock Bowers for most of the season, and it's no surprise that his two best games have come when the team's franchise tight end was healthy against the Patriots and Jaguars. The Raiders have fielded replacement-level tackles since Kolton Miller went down because of an ankle injury in Week 4. And Chip Kelly's return to the NFL as Vegas' offensive coordinator has been a major disappointment, with the Raiders struggling to run or find reliable ways to get their best players the ball.”
Smith’s bad play isn’t all his fault. The offensive line is beat up and can’t create holes for the running game and thus allows defenses to cheat and stop plays before they start.
His lack of ball security has really hurt the Raiders’ chances of success on the offensive side of the ball. He has more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (11) this season.
“All of those can be true, but Smith was expected to raise the Raiders' floor, and he hasn't lived up to expectations,” said Barnwell. “He can be one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the league when he's on his game, but that was always tempered by trying to fit throws into windows that weren't actually open. Smith has made too many ill-advised passes this season, leading to a league-worst 4.5% interception rate. When you consider that Smith is taking sacks more than 9% of the time, there are too many negative plays for this Raiders offense to survive, let alone thrive.”
The Raiders host the Kansas City Chiefs coming off their bye week in Week 11.