The Raiders have found their quarterback in Geno Smith and every indication is that the plan is Las Vegas is to treat Smith like a true franchise quarterback.
Smith is expected to sign a long-term deal with the Raiders, and it seems like he is already getting more respect in Las Vegas than he was getting in Seattle. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Friday that contract talks “stalled” and eventually went “backwards” with the Seahawks in the days leading up to the trade.
He also said the trade was largely driven by the new head coach in Las Vegas.
“Let’s be honest here, when Pete Carroll becomes the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, Pete Carroll is the one driving the acquisition of Geno Smith,” Schefter added on the dynamic that led Smith to the Raiders. “You need the support of Tom Brady, who has to sign off on it, but if the Raiders had hired Ben Johnson, or Kellen Moore, or Liam Coen as their head coach, I feel quite confident in saying Geno Smith would not be the quarterback of the Las Vegas Raiders today. He would still be in Seattle.”
Many, including Schefter, believe the Seahawks are going to make a push for Sam Darnold and the Darnold option was clearly one that didn’t move the needle for the Raiders.
Darnold, 27, is younger than Smith by seven years and the Raiders were willing to give up a third-round pick to potentially pay Smith more than what Darnold is going to get in free agency.
Time will tell whether the Raiders made a good decision to pass on Darnold in favor of Smith, but one former player thinks the Seahawks made a mistake by letting Smith get away.
“You had Geno Smith in house, you knew what you had,” former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman said on his podcast. “In this situation, maybe they know something I don’t and clearly they do, they have to, but right now I don’t see a clear plan and if they don’t know something, then this is an insane move.”
If the Seahawks are able to sign Darnold, there’s a case to be made for what they are doing, but after Darnold there aren’t many exciting quarterback options in free agency – and even Darnold is a risky option considering he was behind Gardner Minshew on the free agent “depth chart” a year ago.
Looking ahead, it will be interesting to compare the contracts handed out to Darnold and Smith by their respective teams. There have been some huge contact numbers floated around about Smith in the last 24 hours, and Raider fans might be surprised by how invested Carroll really plans to be in his new quarterback.
x: @raidersbeat
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