Maybe many people who defended Geno Smith, the quarterback, when he played for the Seattle Seahawks, were wrong. To be fair, we certainly did that here at 12th Man Rising. Smith, after all, seemed like a redemption story, and there weren't many narratives like his.
But over three years, feelings for him began to sour. 12s learned that the quarterback still has a bit of a temper (he used to get in fights with his New York Jets teammates, his first NFL team), and that was disruptive in the locker room and on the sidelines. It is difficult to do well if you think a team leader is going to yell at you.
Still, in the post-Russell Wilson seasons, Smith did help keep the Seahawks near .500 or a bit above it. The quarterback could have been worse, especially in the first two seasons he spent as QB1 in 2022 and 2023. 2024, even though the team won 10 games, was much worse.
Seattle Seahawks made the right move trading Geno Smith
Smith inarguably cost Seattle a winnable game against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9, tossing red zone interceptions, one of which was returned 102 yards for a touchdown. While there were many games left in the season, that specific game might have cost the team a playoff spot.
Unfortunately for former Seattle head coach Pete Carroll, Smith's performance has rolled over to the Las Vegas Raiders, the new team for both the coach and the quarterback. Vegas is dismal in 2025, sitting at the bottom of the AFC West by a wide margin at 2-7. Smith is a big reason for that.
His interception percentage has nearly doubled from last season (2.6 to 4.5, which leads the NFL) while his total QBR of 34.6 is 30th in the league through Week 10. He's been so ineffective that ESPN's Bill Barnwell thinks there is a very real chance Smith is one-season-and-done in Las Vegas.
In a recent article about teams that could change quarterbacks this offseason, Barnwell listed the Raiders and wrote about Smith, "...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."
That basically nails who Geno Smith is. He has a great arm and can make any throw, but the fact that he knows that gets him and his team into trouble many times. It certainly was an issue with the Seattle Seahawks in 2024.
Thankfully, though, Seattle no longer has to worry about Smith. New QB1 Sam Darnold appears to be doing just fine and is a lot younger than Smith. The Seahawks have likely found their long-term quarterback, but the Raiders haven't.