Geno Smith is the clear starting quarterback in Las Vegas after the Raiders gave up a third-round pick for the veteran last week, but the matter of his contract is one that still has not been addressed.
Everyone knows about the relationship Smith has with Pete Carroll, and there isn’t expected to be a dispute around his money going forward. But the more time goes by without a new deal in place, it’s fair to wonder what might be going on.
Often when a trade is made for a player of Smith’s status (and effect on the salary cap), the sides come together on a contract before the deal is made official. In situations where that doesn’t happen, the player generally gains leverage in contract negotiations.
From the outside, Smith looks to be in a position where he can use a little leverage against the Raiders and Seattle host Dick Fain brought up the matter this week on the team’s flagship radio station.
“How happy is Geno Smith going to be taking less than $42, $43 million a year when that’s the whole reason he asked out of Seattle because Seattle wouldn’t give it to him?” Fain asked on Raider Nation Radio’s JT The Brick Show on Monday.
“I was kind of surprised that the Raiders hadn’t come up with a contract for Geno at the time of the trade. That’s always a little bit dangerous because now you’ve purchased Geno Smith,” Fain continued. “Now you got to come up with the price tag after you’ve taken him out of the store. I mean, that’s a little bit, that could be a little bit scary.”
JT responded by saying there wasn’t any concern in Las Vegas because of the Raiders’ flexible salary cap situation.
That’s a valid point, but from team’s perspective it would obviously be beneficial to sign Smith to a deal as team friendly as possible. A few million saved on Smith’s contract might be the difference in keeping or losing a player that can make an impact in 2025.
As JT and others have pointed out, the situation between Smith and the Raiders appears to be fine. But until there’s a contract in place, there’s going to be speculation about what’s really going on.
Vinny Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal called the delay in announcing Smith “a little unusual” but added that he has “pretty much” ruled out any red flags.
Bonsignore thinks the Raiders might be waiting to announce Smith along with his new deal, but that explanation doesn’t address why the process seems to be dragging out.
Until there is a firm report on Smith and his expected new deal, all we can do is speculate. As JT pointed out, cap space shouldn’t be an issue for the Raiders. As of Thursday morning, OverTheCap shows the Raiders will more than $50 million in salary cap room – fourth most in the NFL.
x: @raidersbeat
I just hope the Raiders are smart enough to not sign him to an extended contract until the end of the season. Throw him a guaranteed 10 million and leave it at that. Tell him he’s playing this year for his future contract. And please, please keep your eye open for an upgrade.
First off Geno didnt ask for a trade. Second, you dont know what his reason for taking what ever was offered. Schnieder offered Geno and Mekcalf for Maxx Crosby, that was the start of Raiders even pursuing Geno. Maybe Geno wanted out of Seattle due to Schneider getting rid of his weapons.
He’s not going to play on that deal. The leverage the Raiders have is that Smith is technically under contract, and if he doesn’t play, he doesn’t get paid. The leverage Smith has is that any team that acquired him knew he wanted an extension, the fact that the Raiders currently have no viable options aside from him, they have a coach who can’t afford the time to rebuild, and an owner who has mostly refused to admit rebuild is needed, let alone commit to one, the Raiders gave up a somewhat valuable draft pick to acquire him, and the optics of the dysfunctional Raiders screwing things up again would be terrible.
They have to extend him. It just comes down to a total value and guarantee both sides can live with. But this is the danger of committing big money to a non-elite QB. You either want Mahomes or Allen at whatever price, or a functional (or ideally good) young guy on a rookie deal.
If we had a consistently reliable pass blocking OL I believe AOC would be good enough. But a suspect line and more importantly another OC and coach sets him behind the eight ball again.
I wouldn’t extend Smith at all. Let him sit at home.
2 years 40 per year, if he exceeds expectations that deserves a look if not milroe or Howard are in. Time to prove what you have Geno. If we give you the generational talent in Jeanty things may work out for you.
He was offered more than 40 per in Seattle.
Why would he accept that deal, which is less than he was being offered by a better team? But let’s say the Raiders hold firm. Geno is going to decline the offer, and then the Raiders either have to get a QB in the first round, and potentially trade up to do so. They’d have to trade Geno Smith to a team willing to give him an extension. Oh, and any acquiring team would know how desperate the Raiders would be, and they’d offer nowhere close to the draft capital the Raiders already gave up for him. Meanwhile the Raiders look like the guys who tried to outsmart everyone else only to fall on their faces.
If they didn’t trade for Smith without having a pretty exact number it would take to sign him, and be willing to pay that price, the Spytek/Brady/ Carroll regime would be off to a terrible start.