Aaron Rodgers is still the favorite to be the Pittsburgh Steelers’ QB in 2026, but the rest of the veteran market is beginning to take shape. Another option just became available in the event that Rodgers decides to call it a career as the Las Vegas Raiders plan to release QB Geno Smith, per Adam Schefter on X.
ESPN sources: the Raiders are releasing last season’s starting quarterback Geno Smith, barring a trade before the start of the new league year. By releasing Smith, the Raiders will open up $8M in salary cap space while taking on $18.5M in dead money. pic.twitter.com/MZGLKJPEeX
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 6, 2026
Blazing the trail for Sam Darnold as a New York Jets bust-turned Seattle Seahawks reclamation project, Smith enjoyed a few very solid seasons after nine years of nearly falling out of the league. From 2022-2024, Smith led the Seahawks to a 27-22 record with a 68.5 completion percentage, 12,226 yards, 71 TDs, and 35 INTs.
His career resurgence earned Smith two Pro Bowl selections, an NFL Comeback Player of the Year honor, and even some MVP votes in 2022. His best trait was leading fourth-quarter comebacks and game-winning drives, having 10 and 12 respectively over that three-year stretch.
Smith parlayed his excellent stretch with the Seahawks into a two-year, $75 million contract with the Raiders last offseason. Just as soon as his resurgence came about, it faded in Las Vegas amid an ugly 2-13 season.
The Raiders will either trade or release Geno Smith by the start of the league year, sources tell @NFLonCBS. It seems extremely unlikely a team will wish to take on his contract, which has a guaranteed $18.5M in 2026. Release is expected.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) March 6, 2026
At 35 years old, Smith would fit right in with the Steelers’ recent trend of employing quarterbacks in their final years. Despite the poor record, he still passed for 3,025 yards and 19 TDs on a very poor Raiders roster. He led the league with 17 INTs, too.
He doesn’t make sense for the Steelers for a full season, but could be an ideal stopgap to potentially ease Will Howard into a starting role if that’s in the cards for 2026. In that scenario, the Steelers would have a veteran fallback plan in the event Howard doesn’t seem ready during preseason play. Think back to how the Steelers handled the transition from Mitch Trubisky to Kenny Pickett as a template for what that could look like.
How much money would Smith even command on the open market? It probably wouldn’t be much different than what Aaron Rodgers got last season at $19.5 million after incentives.
At the very least, Smith provides the Steelers another cheap option.
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