The NFL offseason is never short for suprise moves, and last night former West Virginia quarterback and fan favorite Geno Smith found himself as part of one of those moves.
Smith, the all-time passing leader for the Mountaineers, has made multiple stops in the NFL. It was thought at one time that he might be the long-term answer for the Seattle Seahawks, his latest team, but on Friday evening the Seahawks traded Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders for a 2025 3rd-Round draft pick.
BREAKING: #Seahawks QB Geno Smith traded to the #Raiders, multiple sources tell @NFLonFOX. pic.twitter.com/hia3r3VdRN
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 7, 2025
The trade will reunite Smith with his former head coach in Seattle, Pete Carroll, who is taking over the Raiders in 2025.
All signs indicate at this time that Carroll and the Raiders are looking to stabilize the quarterback position in Vegas, and want to sign Smith to a long-term deal.
God is the GREATEST!!
Excited to get to work and WIN.
The time is NOW
7️⃣🌎 https://t.co/IsfaM0ZSeP
— Geno (@GenoSmith3) March 8, 2025
Smith was drafted out of WVU in 2013 with the No. 39 overall pick by the New York Jets, but lost his starting job after two seasons following the firing of head coach Rex Ryan. In his fourth season as a jet Smith suffered a torn ACL midseason and was out for the remainder of the year.
After four years with the Jets, he played one season with the Giants and one season with the Chargers, both on backup roles before signing with the Seahawks in 2019. He was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2022, and was named to the Pro Bowl in 2022 and 2023.
It's always seemed odd that Smith hasn't been able to win the trust of a franchise, despite playing well at every stop. The prevailing thought had been that Smith was going to stay in Seattle as the starter after leading the Seahawks to three consecutive winning seasons and a playoff berth in 2022.
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The Raiders have been in quarterback limbo since giving up on Derek Carr after the 2022 season. Since Carr left for New Orleans, the Raiders have started five different quarterbacks, including Aidan O'Connell, Jimmy Garoppolo, Brian Hoyer, Gardner Minshew, and Desmond Ridder.
There was a belief that Pete Carroll would opt to bring his former star quaterback Russell Wilson to Vegas via free agency. That narrative has now certainly been put on hold with the acquisition of Smith.
Smith finished his WVU career as the all-time leader in passing yards (11,662) and touchdown passes (98). He also holds school records for single-game and single-season passing yards, touchdowns, and career total offense.