The Seattle Seahawks are trading two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a 2025 third-round draft pick, per FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz.
Smith played five seasons in Seattle and was promoted from backup to starter after the Seahawks traded Russell Wilson to Denver.
Smith went on to lead the league in completion percentage (69.8%) in 2022, while finishing fourth in touchdown passes (30) and fifth in quarterback rating (100.9) en route to leading the Seahawks to a wild-card berth.
His accuracy dipped the following season but rose again in 2024 to a career-high mark of 70.4%. He threw for a career-high 4,320 yards, as well as 21 touchdowns, but Seattle missed the playoffs for a second consecutive season.
Smith, 34, was heading into the final year of a three-year, $75 million deal, which he signed after his first season as a starter in Seattle. The Seahawks had been engaged in contract negotiations with Smith all week. Seattle was not willing to come to the number Smith desired, while the two sides quietly explored potential destinations, Schultz reported.
Smith officially requested a trade Thursday night after it became clear that the two sides could not find a common ground. Seattle wanted significant drafted capital in return, and felt satisfied with a third-rounder in next month’s draft. Following Smith’s move to Las Vegas, he and the Raiders will continue that long-term contract negotiaton process which had stalled in Seattle.
“The Raiders plan to make Geno Smith their ‘QB of the future,'” Schultz reported
This deal could not have come together without the guidance of the Raiders’ newly hired head coach, Pete Carroll.
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Carroll, according to Schultz’s reports, has “always been a huge fan” of Smith. He promoted Smith to starting quarterback back in 2022 after Wilson’s departure. Carroll, 73, spent 14 years as the Seahawks head coach, leading them to Super Bowl XLVIII before stepping down after the 2023 season. He then spent one season away from coaching before returning to the NFL when the Raiders hired him in January.
Before finalizing the deal, Carroll got Raiders’ minority owner Tom Brady onboard with the move to bring in Smith, Schultz reported.
Smith will now presumably ascend to the top of Las Vegas’s depth chart as the Raiders are expected to release Gardner Minshew, who started nine games for them last season. Aidan O’Connell, who started five of the Raiders’ final six games last year, will move into a backup role.
In the last three days, Seattle has parted ways with integral offensive pieces, including Smith and receiver Tyler Lockett, while receiver D.K. Metcalf requested a trade. Therefore, the Seahawks will be looking to the free-agent market and April’s NFL Draft to patch up their losses.
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