Despite a disastrous season, league scouts see veteran QB Geno Smith as a potential solution for other NFL teams, not just a Raiders castoff.
The 2025 season was supposed to play out much differently than it actually did for quarterback Geno Smith and the Las Vegas Raiders. After arriving last offseason via trade to reunite with his former coach during his time with the Seattle Seahawks, Pete Carroll, there was some excitement in Las Vegas.
Because of Smith’s age and his reunion with his former coach, there weren’t expected to be many growing pains. Instead, the Raiders expected their new quarterback to start strong and lead a gritty Raiders team to a respectable record.
That certainly wasn't how it played out, however, as the Raiders won their first game of the season before winning just two more the entire season. With a 3-14 record, 2025 was abysmal for Las Vegas, and Smith wasn’t blameless.
The 35-year-old threw a league-leading 17 interceptions to 19 touchdowns and threw for his lowest yardage in a season with at least 15 games played. Despite coming in as the leader that was supposed to elevate the Raiders to his level, he ended up having his worst year yet. Still, he remains under contract with the Raiders through the 2027 season.
He’s unlikely to actually play out that contract in Las Vegas, however, with a release likely for the 12-year veteran. If he is to get released, ESPN’s Dan Graziano claimed that Smith could draw interest from multiple teams across the NFL.
According to Graziano, multiple coaches believe Smith’s poor season was a result of the abysmal offensive system in Las Vegas rather than his own doing. In the same article, Smith’s name was linked to the Minnesota Vikings, who are looking to add a quarterback to compete with their first-round selection from 2024, J.J. McCarthy.
On the Raiders’ side of things, they have their future at the position figured out already. Barring a last-minute shakeup, the Raiders will select Indiana University quarterback Fernando Mendoza, coming off a national championship. Adding Mendoza to their young offensive core of tight end Brock Bowers and running back Ashton Jeanty is enough to bring excitement back to Las Vegas after a brutal 2025.
The Raiders expected to land the quarterback of their future when trading for Smith last offseason, and weirdly, they did. It turned out it wouldn’t be him, but the Smith-led Raiders landed a spot selecting at the top of this spring’s draft – the perfect spot to select their future quarterback for hopefully many years.
Smith could still be on the roster by camp if the Raiders decide they’d rather start a veteran in Week 1, but his future at the club isn't paired with the same excitement that he arrived with last year. Perhaps it’d be better for both parties to go their own separate ways.