The Las Vegas Raiders are in last place in the AFC West with a 2-6 record, and they have been wandering through the desert for some time when it comes to their quarterback situation.
They felt they had found at least a temporary solution when they brought in Geno Smith during the offseason and reunited him with Pete Carroll, whom they hired to be their new head coach.
But Smith has thus far failed to duplicate the fine play he displayed with the Seattle Seahawks during the previous three seasons, and he has instead looked like the ineffective signal-caller he was during the first several years of his career.
The Raiders reportedly had the opportunity to snag Sam Darnold during the offseason, coming off the fantastic breakout campaign he had last year with the Minnesota Vikings. But as Colin Cowherd pointed out, part-owner Tom Brady shut down that possibility.
“There were reports that Brady didn't want Sam Darnold in Vegas,” Cowherd said during an episode of “The Herd w/ Colin Cowherd.” “…it seems to me Sammy is pretty good.”
Read more: Colin Cowherd Doesn't Hold Back on 49ers and Kyle Shanahan
According to an original report by Michael Silver of The Athletic back in June, Brady was against Las Vegas signing Darnold. Instead, the University of Southern California product opted to head back to the West Coast and join the Seahawks.
In 2024, Darnold, who had previously been considered a bust, much like Smith was in the past, threw for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns while driving Minnesota to a 14-3 record and getting it to the brink of a first-place finish in the NFC North. At the time, one could’ve credibly dismissed that performance as a one-off that happened partly because of the wealth of offensive weapons Minnesota has.
But through eight games this year, Darnold has continued to look like the best version of himself. He has registered 2,084 passing yards and 16 touchdown passes while completing 70.4% of his passing attempts, and he has guided the Seahawks to a 6-2 record, which is tied with the Los Angeles Rams for the best mark in the NFC West.
Meanwhile, Smith is tied for the most interceptions at 11, and the Raiders came into Week 10 ranked 29th in scoring and 30th in total yards. Their defense hasn’t picked up the slack, and it is looking like yet another miserable season for the silver and black.
The franchise, which was once one of the NFL’s more iconic organizations, has made the playoffs just once since the 2002 season and has finished with a winning record just twice during that time. It has building blocks in tight end Brock Bowers, rookie running back Ashton Jeanty and star pass rusher Maxx Crosby, but when a team doesn’t have a quality quarterback, or even an adequate one, it will go nowhere.
Perhaps the best-case scenario for Las Vegas right now is to lose enough games to get a very high draft pick and snag a potential franchise signal-caller in the 2026 draft.
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