If you are a fan of Geno Smith being the starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, you might not want to check the news. The team has reportedly traded the quarterback to the Las Vegas Raiders, according to Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports. The move will reunite Smith with former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.
The move makes sense, too. This year's quarterback class in the 2025 NFL draft is extremely weak compared to 2024. The only two quarterbacks that most pundits had a first-round grade on were Miami's Cam Ward and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders. Seattle had little chance of moving up in the draft to take either one, but now they might. The trade of Smith appears to have only net the team a third-round pick, but will save the team $31 million.
There was also seemingly no QB on the free agent market who was certainly better than Smith. Still, Seattle is rumored to have Sam Darnold in their sights to sign in free agency, according to Tom Pelissero.
Seattle Seahawks trade quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders
Now that Smith is traded, Seattle will need to find a new long-term QB, though the move to the Raiders does not imply that Seattle will get pick number six overall. That would be the Raiders' first choice in the 2025 NFL draft.
Adding a quarterback in the next couple of seasons is now a priority, and Seattle can hopefully use some of its draft capital and cap room to either draft a quarterback or sign a player who can help the team long-term.
Does he need to fix issues with holding on to the ball for too long (an issue that has been a problem for the Seahawks ever since Russell Wilson became the starter in 2021)? Definitely. But new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak should call quicker passes, as well as use more play-action. Whatever quarterback becomes Seattle's QB1 should be in a better position to succeed.
Geno Smith is the same quarterback who, at times over the last three seasons, has led the league in completion percentage (2022), game-winning drives (2023), and NFC touchdown passes (2022) and has made two Pro Bowls. Some 12s might not like that he has been traded, but Smith now reportedly belongs to the Raiders. Seattle appears to be on the brink of a major rebuild.
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