Geno Smith Trade Shouldn't Stop Raiders From Targeting QB in NFL Draft Amid Rumors

On Friday, the Las Vegas Raiders reached an agreement to acquire quarterback Geno Smith from the Seattle Seahawks. That trade is expected to be finalized after the start of the new league year at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

The move will reunite Smith with new Raiders head coach Pete Carroll and should help stabilize the team's quarterback position for, at least, the next few seasons.

That is, if Las Vegas signs the 34-year-old to a contract extension. Smith is entering the final year of his current deal, and according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk, he and the Raiders don't already have an extension agreement in place.

"Smith will arrive in Nevada without a new contract, we’re told," Florio wrote on Tuesday.

Of course, the Raiders may have a very good reason for waiting until after Smith is in the building to start drawing up contract offers. If the team is interested in pairing Smith with a rookie and possible quarterback of the future, it could impact the length and structure of his next deal.

Right now, the Raiders may still not know how they feel about that plan.

What the Raiders should hope to avoid is a situation similar to that of the Atlanta Falcons and Kirk Cousins. After signing Cousins in 2024 free agency, the Falcons went on to use a first-round draft pick on Michael Penix Jr. As things stand, Atlanta can either eat $65 million in dead money to part with Cousins or pay him $40 million to be Penix's backup this season.

If Las Vegas believes there's a chance it can find its next quarterback in this year's draft, it should structure Smith's contract in a way that won't financially cripple the team in a year or two.

And, according to Tashan Reed of The Athletic, the Raiders haven't ruled out drafting a quarterback in April.

"They’re still considering a quarterback as early as the first round, according to league sources," Reed wrote.

Trading for Smith shouldn't preclude Las Vegas from drafting a quarterback, if the right one is available. Smith should have several good years ahead of him, but he's not going to solve the quarterback problem for the next decade-plus. And while he has a Pro Bowl ceiling, he isn't a top-five quarterback in the mold of Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson.

Will such a quarterback be found in this year's draft class? That currently feels unlikely. However, if Miami's Cam Ward or Colorado's Shedeur Sanders falls to No. 6—and both Carroll and general manager John Spytek believe he can be special—Smith's presence shouldn't prevent Las Vegas from flipping the switch on the pick.

According to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, Smith was seeking $45 million annually from Seattle on his next contract. Las Vegas can make a similar offer, but it can be a shorter deal with more money paid up-front if the team likes its chances of finding a franchise quarterback who can start by Year 2.

Regardless of how Smith's contract is constructed, the Raiders shouldn't pass on Ward or Sanders if they believe in one of them and they're available. Atlanta's situation isn't exactly enviable, but it's better than being left without a quarterback in a year or two if Smith starts to decline.

It shouldn't prevent Las Vegas from taking a chance on a prospect like Will Howard, Jaxson Dart or Jalen Milroe either—again, only if the team truly believes in the player.

Aidan O'Connell has proven to be a solid backup, but he isn't franchise-quarterback material. The Raiders, like any team that doesn't have one, should continue taking swings at the position until it finds their quarterback of the future.

Smith is Las Vegas' quarterback of the present. If the Raiders are fortunate, he could be the quarterback of the next four or five years. If things go as planned, however, the Raiders won't be picking this high in the draft order anytime soon.