geno smith
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Las Vegas Raiders QB Geno Smith.
The Las Vegas Raiders weren’t expected to have questions about their starting quarterback this early in the season. The team traded for Geno Smith with the hope that he’d be a big upgrade over the Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew pairing of last season.
That hasn’t been the case, as the Raiders are 1-3 and Smith leads the NFL with seven interceptions, including two games with three interceptions, which both resulted in losses.
Despite the fact that the Raiders gave him a two-year, $75 million contract extension in the offseason, some fans are already ready to see him get sent to the bench. His leash is pretty long, but it’s not endless. CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin believes that Smith is among the quarterbacks most in danger of losing their starting job if they can’t improve.
“Pete Carroll’s whole deal as the new coach was to establish a win-now operation, and Smith was acquired to lead the charge, bringing veteran gravitas to the quarterback spot,” Benjamin wrote. Unfortunately, his worst tendencies as a risk-taker have contributed to the Raiders‘ slow start; he leads the NFL with seven picks in four games. Pickett, meanwhile, may be best known for bouncing between clubs as a trade chip, but he’s still just 27, only a couple years removed from serving as a full-timer with the Pittsburgh Steelers. If the Raiders offense keeps having issues with ball security, isn’t it possible Carroll will want to see what he has in the younger Pickett before opting for a total reboot of the position next offseason?
Would Kenny Pickett Be Any Better?
Before the season, the Raiders traded a fifth-round pick to add former first-round pick Kenny Pickett. While that’s not a huge price to pay, it’s big enough to suggest that they have some level of confidence that Pickett could potentially start games.
Pickett has a 15-10 record in 25 career starts and has thrown 15 touchdowns to 14 interceptions. Those aren’t very inspiring numbers, but he’s at least proven he won’t keep a team from winning.
He was a first-round pick for a reason, so perhaps there’s still some potential there. Smith was once a highly drafted quarterback who flopped with the first few teams but found success later in his career. Perhaps Pickett could have a similar career arc.
Smith Takes Accountability
To Smith’s credit, he hasn’t been making excuses for his poor play. He certainly could. The Raiders‘ offensive line hasn’t been great, the team barely got the running game going, and he’s in a completely new offense.
However, the offensive line and running game played great in Week 4, and he still threw three interceptions. He knows he needs to be better.
“(The interceptions) all came out of my hand and ended up in the defense’s hands,” Smith said Wednesday. “So those are the things that I’ve seen that are in common and those are things we’ve got to correct.”
Smith has played at a very high level in the past, but he’s yet to have a great game with the Raiders. He needs to have a strong and clean performance soon, before the fans completely turn on him.