The Las Vegas Raiders are running out of time in the 2025 regular season. The offseason should be filled with a lot of intrigue.
One player who likely isn’t looking forward to the offseason is quarterback Geno Smith. He’s had a nightmare season that has seen him get sacked and throw more interceptions than any quarterback in the NFL.
Against the New York Giants in Week 17, Smith had to leave the game early due to an ankle sprain. His status for the finale against the Kansas City Chiefs was in question, and the Raiders finally have their answer.
The Raiders announced on Friday that Smith has been ruled out for the Week 18 contest. This isn’t a surprise, as head coach Pete Carroll suggested this would be the case. Carroll wouldn’t reveal whether Kenny Pickett or Aidan O’Connell will start in his place.
Pickett previously got the start when Smith couldn’t go against the Philadelphia Eagles, but he played a very poor game. O’Connell hasn’t even had a chance to play this season, so it would make sense to get him on the field. According to Carroll, the team wants to see both O’Connell and Pickett get some snaps against the Chiefs.
Has Smith Already Played Last Game as Raider?
With Smith out in Week 18, there’s a good chance he has already played his last game as a Raider. The Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore alluded to this fact.
“If Smith can’t play Sunday, his tenure with the Raiders most likely is over,” Bonsignore wrote. “The former West Virginia standout was acquired during the offseason from Seattle, where he re-established himself as a starter playing under Carroll from 2020 to 2023.”
Cutting Smith leaves the Raiders with an $18.5 million dead cap hit, so there is a world where they decide to keep him for another year, but that seems unlikely. If Smith’s play on the field was the only problem, it’d be justifiable to keep him as a backup, but the fan base has soured on him since he flipped off the home crowd after a loss. It might be better for both sides to part ways.
Raiders Disappointed to Lose Cam Miller
The Raiders surprisingly didn’t draft a quarterback early because they were high on Smith. They waited until the sixth round to select Cam Miller.
He has been on the practice squad all season, but he was poached by the Miami Dolphins with one game left. He likely would’ve spent the offseason with the Raiders, but that won’t be the case now. The team was disappointed about this development.
“Yeah, disappointing to lose him because we put a lot of time in, and he’s put a lot of time in here as well,” Raiders quarterbacks coach Greg Olson said on Thursday. “I had a chance talk to him last night before he got on the plane and left, but he’s a hard worker and certainly somebody that we valued here, and it’s hard to lose a guy like that late in the season. But good luck to him, and happy for him.”
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