The Seattle Seahawks are sending quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders in an absolute bombshell trade, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported Friday afternoon.
The Seahawks are getting a third-round NFL Draft pick from the Raiders in return, per Schefter.
Wyman and Bob react to Seahawks’ ‘shocking’ Geno Smith trade
This will reunite the 34-year-old Smith with former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, who was hired to coach the Raiders in January.
Schefter reported that the Seahawks and Smith were at an impasse over a contract extension, at which point the Raiders “stepped in and showed interested.”
Last month: Will Seahawks explore trading Geno to Raiders?
According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the trade talks between the Seahawks and Raiders began with an even bigger blockbuster proposal involving Seattle Pro Bowl receiver DK Metcalf and Raiders star defensive end Maxx Crosby.
The Seahawks opened trade discussions with the Raiders with this blockbuster proposal—Geno Smith and DK Metcalf to Vegas for Maxx Crosby. Vegas QUICKLY shot that down, and told Seattle that Crosby was not available.
But talks continued, and led to Geno becoming a Raider.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 8, 2025
The news of Friday’s trade comes just days after star Metcalf requested a trade from Seattle, and signals the Seahawks entering a reset period in its second year with coach Mike Macdonald.
It also comes as an about face from what Macdonald and Seahawks general manager/president of football operations John Schneider have said this offseason about their commitment to Smith as their QB in 2025.
January: Why ex-Seahawks DB thinks they’ll move on from Geno, DK
According to both the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, the Seahawks are now expected to look into pending free agent Sam Darnold as an option at quarterback. Darnold crossed paths with new Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak in 2023 with the San Francisco 49ers, where Darnold was a backup and Kubiak was the team’s passing game coordinator. Darnold was a first-time Pro Bowler with Minnesota in 2024.
Seattle currently has Sam Howell, who was the Washington Commanders’ starting QB in 2023, on its roster.
The Geno trade situation
The Seahawks entered the offseason facing a significant salary cap crunch, but they’ve gone to work in recent weeks to create room to make moves when free agency opens Monday with the two-day “legal tampering” period. Trading Smith will shed his sizable $44.5 million hit from the Seahawks’ books, saving $31 million in cap space while taking on $13.5 million in dead money, per Over the Cap.
Seattle previously cleared money this week by releasing wide receiver Tyler Lockett after 10 years on Wednesday, and four players including outside linebacker Dre’Mont Jones on Tuesday.
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Smith signed a three-year, $75 million contract extension in March 2023, and is set to be a free agent after the 2025 season. Breer reported that the Seahawks and Smith were far apart on salary in recent talks about an extension past next season.
The @Seahawks and Geno Smith were far apart in negotiations—with Seattle closer to around $35 million per and Smith's camp around $45 million per. That precipitated the trade to the @Raiders.
Smith's reunited with @PeteCarroll there.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 8, 2025
Smith completed 70.4% of his passes in 2024 and had a career-high 4,320 passing yards, both of which are Seahawks single-season records. His overall efficiency was down, however, as he threw 21 touchdowns and a career-most 15 interceptions. He particularly struggled with picks in the red zone.
The Seahawks turned to Smith as their starter in 2022 after trading former franchise QB Russell Wilson to Denver, and he won the Associated Press’ Comeback Player of the Year award and made the first of two straight Pro Bowls. He lead the NFL with a 69.8 completion percentage in 2022, and threw for 4,282 yards with a career-high 30 touchdowns to 11 picks.
Smith was a second-round NFL Draft pick by the New York Jets in 2013 out of West Virginia, but he struggled as a starter in his first two seasons. After four years with the Jets, he spent one season each with the Giants and Chargers in a backup role, then came to Seattle in 2020 as the No. 2 QB behind Wilson.
Smith received his first chance to start for Seattle in a four-game stretch when Wilson was injured in 2021.
The Seahawks moved on from Carroll following the 2024 season and kept their roster intact enough to finish 10-7 in Macdonad’s first season ever as a head coach, just missing the playoffs. The roster is clearly undergoing big changes in Year 2, however.
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