The Las Vegas Raiders have found their new quarterback as they sent the Seattle Seahawks the No. 92 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft for 34-year-old Geno Smith. While Raiders head coach Pete Carroll is reunited with a quarterback he’s familiar with, there’s still work to be done.
Smith arrives in Vegas with one year remaining on his contract, and the unspoken part of this trade is that he will likely receive a new deal before taking a single snap for the Silver and Black.
“We’re working on it,” Carroll said of Smith’s looming extension, via NFL.com. “Yeah, we’re working on it. [Smith’s] excited to get going, get started. He’ll be here when we get rolling. But we are working on it.”
Smith was reportedly hoping for a new contract last offseason — just one year after putting pen to paper on a three-year deal that averaged $25 million per year. The veteran quarterback was in talks with Seattle on a new deal, but once those talks hit a snag, Smith was dealt to Vegas.
What will this new contract look like for Smith? That’s a good question. The Seahawks offered him a two-year extension worth somewhere around $40-45 million per year, According to the Seattle Times, but apparently that wasn’t good enough for Smith’s side. Sam Darnold, who replaced Smith in Seattle, signed a three-year deal that averages $33.5 million.
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There’s no reason to believe talks between Smith and the Raiders will soon become hostile, but this is an important issue to settle in the coming months.
“Getting Geno was a really important part of this puzzle we’re putting together,” Carroll said. “He has really a rich background, which was really important to me because I know what we can count on. A guy that is such a great worker, he’s grown so much throughout his career, been through so much and overcome so much. I love the way he approaches the game. He’s serious, he’s competitive. He works his tail off. He’s a great leader in that regard. He leads the guys by the way he takes to the game. Man, he’s talented, really talented.”
