The Raiders have a deal done with Geno Smith. They’re giving the trade acquisition a two-year extension, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. This may keep the ex-Seahawks starter under contract through 2027.
It appears initial reports, like when Smith signed his 2023 Seahawks contract, featured a slight inflation. Smith’s Raiders deal will probably be price $75MM, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Earlier reports indicated the deal checked in at $85.5MM, though Schefter indicates that represents the pact’s max value. Smith’s recent contract will include $66.5MM guaranteed, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reports.
This represents a bridge deal for each parties, though Smith’s age might make this his final starter-level contract. Set to show 35 in October, Smith had angled for a deal north of $40MM per 12 months. That aim prompted the Seahawks to trade their three-year starter fairly than conform to his price. The Raiders, after being prepared to offer Matthew Stafford a giant guarantee in a trade, pounced and reunited him with Pete Carroll.
This marks Carroll’s second time signing off on a Smith starter-level contract, as he was in place because the Seahawks’ top decision-maker once they gave him a three-year, $75MM deal in 2023. That turned out to bring good value for the Seahawks, who held Smith to the deal at the same time as he pushed for a brand new one in 2024. Although Smith couldn’t quite reach that $40MM-per-year point during his Raiders talks, the reclamation project did secure a big raise.
At $37.5MM per 12 months, Smith again will are available with a lower-middle-class contract on a skyrocketing QB market. When Smith signed his $25MM-AAV deal in March 2023, the league had not seen the $50MM-per-year club form. It has now, with 10 passers comprising it. Smith only moves up just a few spots on the QB salary list, and it’s definitely no coincidence his recent AAV matches Derek Carr‘s Saints number.
Though, it’s notable the Raiders were only comfortable matching that — as Carr secured those terms when the cap resided at barely $224MM. It’s now at $279.2MM, inviting questions on the Raiders’ commitment level. The Raiders were ready to offer Stafford a deal that included not less than $90MM guaranteed. The Rams standing down and retaining their starter forced the Raiders and Giants to look elsewhere, and each teams approved cheaper contracts to handle their QB voids.
Reasonably than dive into the free agent QB market and enter a draft chock stuffed with maligned passing prospects, the Raiders traded a third-round pick for Smith. They’re catching the previous second-rounder going into his thirteenth NFL season, but these terms align with Carroll’s stopgap coaching contract. The Raiders gave Carroll a three-year deal, one geared toward bringing stability to a corporation that has lacked it for a few years. We now have a timeline on the most recent Carroll-Smith partnership, as this contract buys the AFC West club a while to seek out a real long-term option.
It also mustn’t be viewed as a random occurrence that Smith’s deal surpasses Sam Darnold‘s recent Seattle AAV, which is $33.5MM. The Seahawks have been out of the franchise-QB payment game since trading Russell Wilson to the Broncos, and fairly than reunite with Wilson, Carroll selected Smith and now has him tied to the NFL’s Sixteenth-highest QB contract. This could give the Raiders some flexibility, though it’ll be interesting to learn what the guarantee at signing is.
The Raiders gave Carr two franchise-QB-level extensions, the primary (in 2017) setting an NFL record and the second (in 2022) being a transparent bridge deal while the Josh McDaniels-led regime evaluated the fit. Because the fit proved poor, the Raiders soon lost their QB stability by cutting Carr. They’ve moved on from their past two Week 1 starters — Jimmy Garoppolo, Gardner Minshew — via post-June 1 cuts. Smith will enter 2025 — barring a surprise first-round QB draft alternative — on steadier ground in comparison with his two veteran predecessors in Vegas, though this contract length does invite questions beyond 2025.
Recent Raiders GM John Spytek said recently the Raiders want Smith as their starter for “years to come back.” Smith might have the within track to be the Silver and Black’s starter in 2026 as well, however the Raiders figure to do more QB homework ahead of next 12 months’s draft; as of now, that crop looks higher than what the 2025 draft presents. Smith, nonetheless, may have a likelihood to maintain his post-30 momentum going.
Although Smith bettered his Comeback Player of the Yr completion rate (69.8, a number that led the league in 2022) by connecting on 70.4% of his throws last season, he threw 15 interceptions. Smith’s yards-per-attempt number (7.5) matched his 2022 breakthrough, but he was also working with a skill-position group higher than what he inherits in Las Vegas. Brock Bowers delivered a historic tight end rookie season, but questions on for the Raiders at the opposite spots. How Spytek, Carroll and Tom Brady address the receiver position will play a key role in how their QB trade asset fares.
Prior to acquiring Carr, the Raiders carried an intensive history of late-career QB projects — from Wealthy Gannon to Jeff George to Jeff Hostetler to Jim Plunkett. While the Garoppolo swing and miss highlighted an overmatched regime, Carroll’s familiarity with Smith should help the Raiders pick up the pieces after a rough period.
