The Las Vegas Raiders have been held back by abysmal quarterback play over the last few years, and it reached a new low in 2024.
Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell split time as Las Vegas’ starting quarterbacks last year, with Desmond Ridder also appearing in a few games. All three players were subpar, and it was clear the team needed to upgrade the position in the offseason.
After hiring John Spytek as general manager and Pete Carroll as head coach, the Raiders landed their quarterback for the foreseeable future, trading for Geno Smith from the Seattle Seahawks. A couple of weeks after trading for Smith, the franchise signed the signal-caller to a lucrative multi-year extension.
Smith will be a massive upgrade over Minshew and O’Connell for Las Vegas, and he puts Carroll’s squad in a position to compete for a playoff spot in 2025. For those reasons, Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport ranks the Raiders trade for Smith as the one of the best moves of the offseason.
“The Raiders are a team that still possesses issues on both sides of the ball. But the team wasn’t going anywhere without addressing the situation at quarterback. Geno Smith isn’t Patrick Mahomes, but the 34-year-old is coming off the first 10-win season of his career with the Seattle Seahawks. If Smith wins 10 games in Las Vegas, they will build a statue of him outside Allegiant Stadium,” Davenport wrote.
Though Smith isn’t an elite signal-caller, the 34-year-old is experienced and has a good relationship with Carroll. Smith is also incredibly accurate and has proven over the last few seasons that he can produce and win games no matter the situation around him.
The Raiders’ offense is looking much-improved this year, as the addition of Ashton Jeanty at running back will be electric, and the receiving room, led by savvy veteran receiver Jakobi Meyers and All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers, should also take a step forward in 2025 with Smith at quarterback.
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