geno smith
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Las Vegas Raiders QB Geno Smith.
Barring a major change of heart, it appears that the Las Vegas Raiders are set on drafting Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Considering the fact that he has plenty of experience starting games in college, there’s a strong chance that he’ll be starting as a rookie.
However, some coaches like to have a veteran start some games before throwing the rookie into the fire. Klint Kubiak is a new head coach who has mostly worked with veterans in his career, so it’s difficult to know which approach he favors.
Geno Smith is still under contract, and he has some familiarity with Kubiak, as he was expecting to coach him last season before the Raiders traded for him. It wouldn’t be the worst idea to have a veteran quarterback around to help mentor Mendoza during his rookie season.
The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen believes there’s a scenario where Smith could stay put in Las Vegas.
“Geno Smith could be a cut candidate too, but new head coach Klint Kubiak said he took the Seattle OC job so that he could work with Smith,” Nguyen wrote. “So there’s a chance Kubiak would be interested in a reunion with Smith in Vegas and the possibility of using him as a bridge quarterback for Fernando Mendoza.”
Any Downside to Keeping Smith?
The Raiders do save $8 million in salary cap space if they cut Smith, but they also get saddled with an $18.5 million dead cap hit. That’s not a huge amount of savings for Las Vegas. Plus, they’re likely not going to make a huge playoff push in 2026, so that extra $8 million won’t make a big difference. Cutting him next offseason would lead to no dead cap hit.
Smith also has a lot of experience as a backup, so it’s a role he’s comfortable in. Plus, the Raiders might get some trade interest in him if he’s still on the roster when the season starts. While fans do like Smith and want him gone, it might make more sense for the team to keep him around for now.
Alex Cappa Likely Getting Cut
The Raiders made some questionable decisions last offseason, and one of the most baffling was giving Alex Cappa a two-year contract. He hasn’t played at a high level in years and was borderline unplayable for Las Vegas this season.
It doesn’t hurt to have more big bodies around, but Nguyen believes that Cappa needs to get cut before the season.
“One of the many Raiders mistakes of last offseason was rushing to pay Cappa $5 million,” Nguyen wrote. “He was coming off a season in which he played like one of the worst starting guards in the league, didn’t look much better last season and couldn’t help a Raiders line that struggled. He’s scheduled to make $6 million next year but the Raiders can save $5 million ($1 million in dead cap) by cutting him and adding to their wealth of cap space. This should be one of the easiest decisions of this offseason.”