It’s a fairly known fact around the NFL that you can basically assess any team’s chances based on their quarterback situation, which isn’t good for the Las Vegas Raiders given how much of a disaster quarterback Geno Smith has been to date.
Mike Sando of The Athletic took a tongue-in-cheek approach to this situation by inventing some quarterback groupings, and the Raiders didn’t fare well at all. They are worth a laugh, though, as Sando put the Raiders in a group he called “Our opponents hope we stay the course.”
He’s right about that, too. Smith is 35, and the Raiders situation was bad to begin with, as Sando pointed out. Most of the hope and anticipation that came with Smith’s arrival is gone, so the priority going forward should be about figuring out a viable way out of this mess.
Smith’s contract numbers are depressingly familiar at this point. He’s guaranteed $58.5 million, with $18.5 million of that amount guaranteed for next year. The Raiders would have to eat that money if they want to move on from Smith next year, unless they could find a team that wants him in a deal.
That isn’t happening without the Raiders eating at least 75 percent of that $18.5 million, and the best they could hope to do in return is a late day-three draft pick. Even that might be a stretch given how bad Smith has been, though, and the other options look just as ominous.
The Raiders will be drafting in the top ten again, but this is a draft without much in the way of quarterbacks. Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza has size and athleticism, but anyone who watched him last year knows there are considerable issues with his accuracy.
Dante Moore is the other guy who gets mentioned as a possible QB option, but he doesn’t have many starts under center, and there’s no way he’s anywhere close to a plug-and-play option.
The other quarterbacks who get mentioned as possibilities are Daniel Jones and Sam Darnold, but there’s no way either one would consider signing with Las Vegas. Both quarterbacks know what happens when you end up with a bad team that can’t protect the quarterback, and they’ll be looking for better options.
The only real solution is for the Raiders to eat most of the money and try to find a trade partner willing to take a flyer on Smith. Even that seems unlikely, so it’s best to keep that check book open.