Geno Smith might not have been the first quarterback the Raiders pursued in the offseason, but according to head coach Pete Carroll, Smith is the quarterback he wanted from the day he was hired in Las Vegas.
”I was trying to get that done from the moment this thing happened,” Carroll said in May. “I was hoping we could do something [to get Geno Smith].”
There were other quarterbacks the Raiders pursued before Smith, but there is reason to believe the team wasn’t willing to give up any more for Matthew Stafford than they did for Smith.
After Stafford announced that he was returning to the Rams, the Raiders pivoted quickly to Smith and the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vinny Bonsignore acknowledged this week what he initially thought about the trade.
“It’s interesting because I got a little bit of a heads up, Friday morning, the day of the trade for Geno Smith. I got a text,” Bonsignore said on Raiders Nation Radio’s JT the Brick Show.
“I was literally sitting right here, hosting the morning show, and it was from somebody in the NFL that said, ‘Hey, keep an eye on Geno Smith getting traded to the Raiders, it’s going to happen sometime this weekend.’ And I was like, ‘Geno Smith, is that really an upgrade?'”
In the months since the trade, Bonsignore has answered his own question and believes Smith is going to be a significant upgrade over Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew.
But Bonsignore’s admission is reflective of what a lot of fans and media types around the league have said about Smith in recent years.
Smith has been a journeyman quarterback since he was drafted by the Jets in 2013 and despite a few good years in Seattle, he still has doubters.
League analyst Warren Sharp released his ‘Quarterback Tiers’ for 2025 and Smith came in just above the lowest tier, alongside Sam Darnold and Aaron Rodgers.
A lot of fans outside of the Pacific Northwest aren’t familiar with the successful years of Smith’s NFL career – and even fewer are aware of his bond with Carroll.
The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar covered the head coach and quarterback in Seattle, and in April he shared a few interesting insights on Carroll’s affinity for Geno.
“Pete knows Geno and probably believes in Geno more than anyone outside of Geno’s immediate family. The way Pete talks about Geno is the way I talk about my daughter. Pete really loves this dude,” Dugar said on the Just Win podcast.
“At some point last year, he was like, ‘Geno is one of my favorite stories. He’s one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached.’ Pete has been coaching since the 70s. For Geno to rank that high, that means a lot.”
x: @raidersbeat
The Raiders still need an experienced, competent, MOBILE, backup quarterback in the event that an unforeseen injury should befall Geno during the NFL’s 17 game regular season. Last year Gardner Minshew and Adian O’Connell both went down to injury and the Raiders were forced to play Desmond Ridder who was largely ineffective but mobile.
As for untested and inexperienced quarterbacks Bradley and Miller, there’s the practice squad and just like all young quarterbacks, until they have “learned” a thing or two, it’s unreasonable to believe that they could lead this team should the Raiders lose Geno to an unforeseen injury, unless Raiders management believes that either of these guys is another Tom Brady or Brock Purdy in waiting.
Why not pursue a battle tested, mobile, younger (31) and affordable veteran like Joshua Dobbs? In truth, Dobbs has a very similar journeyman resume to that of Rich Gannon. If injury should befall Geno, during the regular season, Adian O’Donnell has shown that he IS NOT a MOBILE option. I hope that the team that I have been a fan of, since 1968, will use some foresight for a change instead of getting caught with their pants down again and add a viable option at the quarterback position. Further, does anyone believe that the Raiders current offensive line is one of the top five in the league? Sure, all Raiders fans are optimistic that this year’s edition will excel it is probably more realistic to believe that anything can, and usually does, happen during the course of a 17 game regular season.
Just look at our division. Patrick Mahomes is mobile and so is Justin Hebert and Bo Nix. Outside of our division there is Lamar Jackson, CJ Stroud, Josh Allen, Jayden Daniels, Kyler Murray and a host of other mobile quarterbacks. Mobility and age cannot be discounted in today’s NFL. Defenses are getting younger, faster and better and it makes absolutely no sense to have a lead footed quarterback, Adian O’Connell, in today’s NFL. That’s just asking for trouble and NO offensive line is perfect, least of all this relatively new Raiders offensive line.
It’s a long regular season and usually the unthinkable, leaguewide injuries to starting quarterbacks, occurs almost every year but, for a much needed change, the Raiders can prepare themselves, by being proactive as opposed to being reactive, and mitigate the almost inevitable, of a possible injury to their starting quarterback, and be prepared for a change.
THIS is, and should be, a NEW era for the Raiders and a chance to turn this once proud franchise around. Optimism is fine but pragmatism is good common sense. I can summarize my argument here in one word for what I am advocating here, depth, with experience as the caveat.
It took Kansas City 50 years to win their second championship. Hopefully it won’t take 60 years for the Raiders to win their fourth, it’s currently 52 and counting, but it has to start with better managerial decision making and adding a mobile, affordable, battle tested veteran quarterback, as an insurance policy, THIS SEASON, would be a good start.
Aidan is an above-average backup. He has led the Raiders to many wins, only problem is his consistency. Mobility only gets you so far, accuracy will always be most important. Mahomes is washed, Herbert is overrated, Nix is unproven.
Yes, I do agree!
Yes, I do agree!
Matt and Ron, respectfully, Mahomes IS NOT washed but his offensive line is in need of fixing. Herbert is on the rise and Bo Nix was better than anyone that we had last year and if RESULTS is the criteria that we judge quarterbacks by then ALL three of these guys lead their respective teams to playoff appearances, last year.
It’s absolutely fine that you may disagree with me but you can’t argue with the fact that, even under these, according to you two assessments, sub standard quarterbacks, they got their teams further than any of the three Raiders quarterbacks did last year.
I agree that this is a new year and hope springs eternal but fellas, don’t just blindly follow and accept everything that the leaders of this franchise does. Even you two can’t possibly believe that the Raiders couldn’t have better personnel at various positions, including the backup quarterback position, or maybe not.