The 2025 campaign hasn’t exactly gotten off to a hot start for the Las Vegas Raiders. While they managed to pull out a victory over the New England Patriots in their season-opener, they have lost four straight games since then. Holes have popped up all over the roster, but one of the bigger concerns has been the play of Geno Smith under center.
The Raiders made a trade with the Seattle Seahawks to bring Smith to town over the offseason, reuniting him with his former head coach, Pete Carroll. However, the results through five games haven’t been particularly good, leading some folks to openly wonder whether the team should bench him. According to a report from NFL insider Tom Pelissero, though, it doesn’t sound like the team has any plans to do that.
Raiders Sticking with Geno Smith at Quarterback
After enduring a rough start to his career, Smith was resurrected during his time with Carroll and the Seahawks. Smith earned a pair of Pro Bowl selections and the 2022 Comeback Player of the Year Award, and when Carroll had an opportunity to reunite with Smith this offseason, he swung a trade with his former team.
Through five games, though, the results haven’t been all that good. While Smith has thrown for 1,176 yards and six touchdowns, he’s also thrown for a league-leading nine interceptions along the way, which has canceled out pretty much everything he’s done well. With Las Vegas suffering a 40-6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5, serious questions about Smith’s viability as a starting option moving forward began to pop up.
The Raiders swung a trade with the Cleveland Browns for Kenny Pickett before the season, giving them a solid backup option they could turn to if they eventually decide Smith is no longer getting the job done. However, that doesn’t seem likely to happen just yet, as the team has reportedly not discussed benching Smith in favor of Pickett yet.
“My understanding is there has been no serious discussion about benching Geno in favor of backup Kenny Pickett,” Pelissero said on “The Insiders.” “Pete Carroll defended Geno this week, said we’ve gotta run the ball better, we’ve gotta support him better … The plan moving forward is for Geno to be the starter.”
What Should the Raiders Do with Geno Smith?
GettyLas Vegas Raiders QB Geno Smith.
The Raiders obviously know that Smith, who turned 35 last week, is not their long-term option at quarterback. However, the hope was that he could keep them competitive, buying the front office time to identify their quarterback of the future. That simply has not happened yet, and on the surface, it appears time is running out for Smith to find his footing with Las Vegas.
To this point, the Raiders haven’t talked about potentially benching Smith, but if he continues to struggle, the team may be faced with no choice. The offense could certainly use a strong performance in Week 6, or the chatter surrounding Smith will only grow louder. Las Vegas has a great opportunity to put together a bounce-back performance on Sunday, as they will square off against the one-win Tennessee Titans at 4:05 p.m. ET.
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