The Geno Smith era with the Las Vegas Raiders is beginning to turn sour, if it hasn’t already. With the veteran leading the league in interceptions and the Silver and Black at 1-4 while riding a four-game losing streak, this 2025 NFL season could be a nightmare if the team doesn’t turn the situation around.
Las Vegas have the perfect opportunity to snap their losing skid when they face the Tennessee Titans in Week 6. The Titans are in the same boat as the Raiders, but nothing in the NFL is guaranteed, and a loss to Cam Ward and Co. would be a significant blow.
Ahead of Week 6, NFL Insider Tom Pelissero shared his thoughts on the Smith situation, and while the Raiders are dealing with injuries, a lot of the fault should be on the signal-caller.
“It’s bad right now,” Pelissero told Suzy Shuster on “The Rich Eisen Show.” “He’s really struggling, which you know, so I was at the Week 1 game in Foxborough, where it was bumpy in the first half, but Geno stepped up and made a bunch of big-time throws in the second half to guys like Tre Tucker and other players that I don’t think the average fan has heard of.
“Not having Brock Bowers is a big deal — that’s the straw that stirs the drink. He got banged up, I think, in the fourth quarter of that game. He’s played several games but wasn’t himself, then missed last week’s game. No sign he’ll be back…. But a lot of this just boils down to Geno — whether it’s decision-making or accuracy, he’s just not playing like we’ve seen Geno at his best.”
Could the Raiders Move On From Geno Smith?
If the situation doesn’t turn around, Pelissero believes that Las Vegas will jump back into the quarterback market in the offseason, which is hard to hear for any fan knowing that Year 1 under head coach Pete Carroll could be a waste.
“You go back to all those years with Russell Wilson,“ Pelissero added. “As much as people wanted to ‘Let Russ cook,‘ a big part of the reason they were successful was that they were the best running team in the NFL for a large portion of that time. They didn’t need Russ to go out and throw the ball all over the yard for the first three quarters of the game until, hey, fourth quarter — we’re down. ‘All right, Russ, now do your magic.’
“It’s kind of the same thing with Geno Smith, who was in that same type of structure here. Right now, for whatever reason, they don’t really have that balance. Bowers’ absence is a huge part of it. But certainly, the longer the struggles go on for Geno Smith, the more we’re talking about whether the Raiders are back in the quarterback market in 2026.”
How Much Would Geno Smith’s Exit Cost?
While Carroll continues to back Smith, it’s unclear if the same confidence exists in Las Vegas’ front office. ESPN’s Dan Graziano recently broke down how much it would cost the Raiders financially if they decide to move on from him.
“What’s interesting to me is that the contract Smith signed with the Raiders after the trade doesn’t really tie them to him beyond this year,“ Graziano wrote in an article published on October 8. “He has an $18.5 million salary guarantee for 2026, after making $40 million this year.
“If the Raiders cut him after this season, they’d have paid him $58.5 million for one (presumably disappointing) year. That’s a lot, but as Jeremy said, this team wants to win soon. If absorbing $18.5 million in dead money next year to move on helps them do that, I doubt it would stand in the Raiders’ way.”
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