Last month there were signs pointing to the idea that former Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith may have tried to force his way out of Seattle and to the Raiders.
Smith had reportedly shut down contract negotiations with the Seahawks in early March and a deal with the Raiders seemed to come together remarkably fast after Matthew Stafford and his wife opted to return to the Rams.
“While reports vary, one person with knowledge of the situation said the [Seahawks] offer was a two-year deal in the $40-45 million per year range, similar to that of Matthew Stafford of the Rams, who has a four-year, $160 million deal with L.A. That would have kept Smith under contract through the 2027 season,” Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times reported early last month.
“The team made the offer early in the week and hoped to wrap things up by the end of the week. Seattle, instead, is said to have gotten no counteroffer,” Condotta added.
Smith didn’t have a great year under first-year head coach Mike Macdonald in 2024 and with the Seahawks known interest in trading D.K. Metcalf, there were reasons for Smith to feel a little uncomfortable about his future in Seattle.
Additionally, it was no secret that Smith is one of Pete Carroll’s favorite former players and the Raiders had arguably the most unaccomplished quarterback room in the NFL prior to trading for Smith.
It was never hard to connect the dots between Smith and the Raiders, but according to ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio, the dynamic that led Smith to Las Vegas was primarily the presence of Carroll.
“[Geno] Smith presumably could have gotten that same deal, or something close to it, if he’d stayed in Seattle. However, there was another wrinkle at play. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Smith wanted to reunite with coach Pete Carroll,” Florio reported on Saturday.
“That doesn’t mean Smith deliberately overshot in his contract negotiations with the Seahawks with the hope of being traded to Las Vegas. But it was part of the overall thought process for Smith. And it worked.”
Ultimately, Smith is getting a base salary with the Raiders well below the $40-45 million the Seahawks were reportedly offering.
If reports are accurate around what Seattle was offering, there’s no need for confirmation from Florio or anyone else to why Smith chose to leave the Seahawks…
If it wasn’t money, it had to be his former, now current, head coach.
x: @raidersbeat
Why did they give him an extension? All leverage was with the team. He should be in the Baker Mayfield range 32-33 not higher. He’s older and started to get some injuries last year. Another bad decision by the new regime.