Former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith is set to be a Las Vegas Raider this season after the big trade news from ESPN's Adam Schefter. It wasn't a big surprise that this deal went down as the Raiders were linked to Smith following the hiring of Pete Carroll as head coach.
However, the deal almost looked a lot different. The Seahawks had bigger ideas when they started to discuss a trade with Las Vegas. According to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, the Seahawks were ready to give the Raiders star wide receiver DK Metcalf along with Smith for a major player swap.
"The Seahawks opened trade discussions with the Raiders with this blockbuster proposal-Geno Smith and DK Metcalf to Vegas for Maxx Crosby," Breer wrote on X. "Vegas QUICKLY shot that down, and told Seattle that Crosby was not available.
"But talks continued, and led to Geno becoming a Raider."
The Raiders just made Crosby the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history so even if this trade idea was floated before the deal was signed, Las Vegas was clearly never going to do it. On their own, Smith and Metcalf are likely worth a third-round pick each. The latter might be worth a second-round pick.
Crosby would get a first-round pick and change if he was traded on the open market. It makes sense why they were so quick to shut that down as an option.
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This story was originally published March 7, 2025 at 5:05 PM.