The Las Vegas Raiders have a 2-7 record this season. Las Vegas will be facing the Dallas Cowboys (3-5-1 record) on Monday night football this week.
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Nov 6, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) reacts during the first half at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
One of the biggest issues for the Raiders this season has been quarterback Geno Smith. He has not played well this year after they acquired him in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks this past offseason. This season, Smith has completed 66.7% of his passes for 1,844 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He is 35 years old and there is a very good chance that Las Vegas drafts a quarterback in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
NFL Insider Believes That Las Vegas Raiders QB Geno Smith Will Not Be Their Next Season
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Nov 6, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) drops back to pass against the Denver Broncos during the first half at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Bill Barnwell of espn.com wrote about the eight different quarterbacks who may not be a starting quarterback in 2026. The Raiders may not be starting Smith in 2026 with the way he is playing at the moment. There also could be a chance that he is benched for either Kenny Pickett or Aidan O’Connell before the end of the season anyways.
Barnwell said about the Raiders potentially moving on from Smith this offseason,
“It would be a surprise if Smith made it to a second season with the Raiders as the starting quarterback. But there are explanations that can be made for his struggles. Smith hasn’t had a healthy Brock Bowers for most of the season, and it’s no surprise that his two best games have come when the team’s franchise tight end was healthy against the Patriots and Jaguars. The Raiders have fielded replacement-level tackles since Kolton Miller went down because of an ankle injury in Week 4. And Chip Kelly’s return to the NFL as Vegas’ offensive coordinator has been a major disappointment, with the Raiders struggling to run or find reliable ways to get their best players the ball.
All of those can be true, but Smith was expected to raise the Raiders’ floor, and he hasn’t lived up to expectations. He can be one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the league when he’s on his game, but that was always tempered by trying to fit throws into windows that weren’t actually open. Smith has made too many ill-advised passes this season, leading to a league-worst 4.5% interception rate. When you consider that Smith is taking sacks more than 9% of the time, there are too many negative plays for this Raiders offense to survive, let alone thrive.”
A lot of people thought that the Raiders were going to be more competitive this season with Smith at quarterback and head coach Pete Carroll as well. Will Las Vegas make a move at head coach and quarterback once again once the 2025 NFL season ends? They are going to be missing the playoffs once again and they need to pivot off of Smith after this season and find their next franchise quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft also.
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