The Las Vegas Raiders have the worst offense in the NFL through 14 weeks, but they are just now making a quarterback change, and it’s due to injury. Geno Smith has been among the worst starting quarterbacks in the NFL, but he has held onto his starting job.
That’s changing in Week 15. Smith hurt his shoulder and isn’t going to be able to play against the Philadelphia Eagles. Kenny Pickett is going to step in at starting quarterback. He looked solid in limited action against the Denver Broncos in Week 15. If he can play well against the Eagles, it’ll be hard for the Raiders to justify making Smith the start again when he gets healthy.
If that happens, Smith’s future in Las Vegas would certainly come into question. According to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Raiders appear ready to move on from the quarterback after the season.
“It feels as if Smith is destined to be one-and-done in Las Vegas for multiple reasons,” Bonsignore wrote. “First, he hasn’t played well enough to justify being the starter in 2026. Plus, whatever goodwill Smith had with the fan base is gone. The combination of his poor play and some ugly incidents has soured the relationship.
“Cutting him would cost the Raiders $18.5 million in cash and an $18.5 million hard salary cap hit. But it also would save them $8 million.”
Can Smith Do Anything to Convince Raiders to Keep Him?
Not only has Smith’s play been poor, but his attitude hasn’t been very good. He was recently in hot water for flashing his middle finger at the Raiders crowd after a recent home game. The team had to issue an apology for the incident.
The last thing a franchise wants to do is have to apologize for their starting quarterback. At this point, it’s difficult to see how the Raiders can justify bringing him back.
The only way Smith could convince the team he’s worth another shot is if he plays well, but that seems unlikely considering he’s injured. The Raiders are a rebuilding team, so it doesn’t make sense to keep a 35-year-old quarterback around. It’s time for another fresh start at quarterback.
Pickett Talks Return to Philly
Pickett’s first start of the season happens to be against the team he played for last year. The former first-round pick won a Super Bowl as the backup quarterback for the Eagles last season. He also grew up as a fan of the franchise.
The team decided to trade him to the Cleveland Browns before he was later traded to the Raiders. He doesn’t hold any hard feelings toward the Eagles and is looking forward to seeing his former teammates again.
“Just grateful to play this game where you get to meet people and build lifelong relationships,” Pickett said of his former teammates, via Raiders.com. “I’ll be friends with a lot of those guys for the rest of my life. It will be pretty cool going up against them on Sunday and I’m excited for it.”
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