NFL Exec Feels Raiders Passed on Shedeur to Avoid Cousins-Penix Situation with Geno

The Las Vegas Raiders may have wanted to steer clear of any quarterback drama when they passed on Colorado's Shedeur Sanders in the 2025 NFL draft.

The Athletic's Mike Sando spoke to an NFL executive who believes Raiders head coach Pete Carroll went out of his way to avoid undermining Geno Smith in the way the Atlanta Falcons did by using a first-round pick on Michael Penix Jr. after signing Kirk Cousins last offseason.

"Atlanta was able to do that to Cousins because they didn't have a previous relationship," the executive said. "For Pete, let's face it: How long is he going to coach that team? Does he really want to start his last chance by alienating the quarterback he just got?"

Las Vegas did select a quarterback, but taking North Dakota State's Cam Miller in the sixth round does little to shake up the depth chart.

More broadly, the executive interviewed by Sando likely hit on one of the reasons why Sanders fell to the fifth round.

The Athletic's Jeff Howe called it "the backup dilemma."

"Quite frankly, while many teams absolutely place a priority on the backup quarterback position, it's usually better when the player is more anonymous than not," Howe wrote. "The face of the franchise is, well, supposed to be the face of the franchise."

The circus surrounding Tim Tebow on the New York Jets in 2012 is one of the most obvious examples of how having a famous backup QB can backfire.

The Raiders gave up a third-rounder to acquire Smith and then handed him a two-year, $75 million extension. At least for the next season or two, the two-time Pro Bowler is firmly entrenched as their QB1.

That wouldn't have stopped some Raiders fans and casual NFL observers from calling for Sanders to take over if Smith had a bad start or two. The same would be true if Las Vegas had picked Jaxson Dart, Tyler Shough or Jalen Milroe (all of whom went in the first three rounds) at some point in the draft.

Betting on Smith might prove to be the wrong call for the Raiders, but it's the path they have chosen.