Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders
Getty
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
This offseason, it appears that the Minnesota Vikings are leaving no stone unturned when it comes to exploring all QB options for the 2026 NFL season.
Inconsistent play at the signal-caller position contributed to missing the playoffs last season, so the team isn’t looking to repeat this issue in 2026. Now, among the names in the mix, emerging in the speculation mill is Las Vegas Raiders QB Geno Smith.
The Raiders are likely to select former Indiana Hoosiers QB Fernando Mendoza and could pursue a stopgap signal-caller who can run new head coach Klint Kubiak’s offense.
As a result, Smith could be an option for Minnesota should the Silver and Black cut ties with him, which former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber believes will happen.
“Smith is obviously looking at his situation, saying, ‘It’s not going to be here with the Raiders,’ whether this year or two years down the road,”Leber said during a March 2 appearance on KFAN. “They are going to draft Fernando Mendoza. That is a foregone conclusion. Whether Fernando Mendoza starts in Year 1, Year 2, or Year 3, all Geno knows is, ‘This ain’t my team.’
“So he might be telling his agent, ‘Get me out of here.’ There’s a new head coach in town, a whole new system. They want a fresh start with a new quarterback. So they can talk all they want about me coming in and competing and all this other stuff. He knows that this is not his team. They don’t want him there.“
Geno Smith Could Want Raiders to Cut Him
Moreover, Leber notes that because Smith sees the writing on the wall about the Raiders’ direction, the veteran QB could be wanting out of Las Vegas.
“So if I’m him as a player, knowing how soft this free agency is for quarterbacks, I’m like, ‘Let me go test the market. Release me. Let me go. Do something. I don’t want to be here. Trade me. I don’t know,‘” Leber added. “But I would be putting out the feelers to other teams and not wanting to stick around Vegas.“
Geno Smith Is a Better Fit for the Vikings
Amid the speculation involving the quarterback position surrounding the Vikings and Smith being a potential target should the Raiders cut him, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky believes that the Las Vegas signal-caller would be more of a fit in Minnesota than a big-name like Kyler Murray.
“[Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell] wants his quarterback to be the point guard,“Orlovsky said on the March 2 edition of “NFL Live.” “I just need you to be average because everything else is going to be above average. The question is, will Kyler Murray get to that? Would he be willing to do that in trying to repair his reputation? Because I would tell you, talent-wise, no question, give me Kyler Murray over Geno Smith with where they are right now.
“Stylistically, I’d probably tell you, give me Geno Smith over Kyler Murray. Yeah, because he can be that point guard. Geno Smith has been that. He’s been more willing to be that in rhythm, in timing, pocket passer, allow the offense the star rather than me.”