The Las Vegas Raiders expected things to turn around during the 2025 NFL season after the hiring of Pete Carroll. While the former Super Bowl and NCAA national title winner was set to be the oldest head coach in NFL history, his offseason moves to rebuild the offense were generally praised.
Those moves included the addition of quarterback Geno Smith, running back Ashton Jeanty, and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. While the offensive line has let the team down tremendously, it is safe to say that the other moves have not worked out either.
Las Vegas is currently 2-7, thanks in large part to an offense that is even worse than last year's unit. They are averaging just 15.4 points per game, ranking 30th in the league in both scoring offense and total yards. The decision to trade for Smith was recently called out by FOX Sports' Colin Cowherd.
Colin Cowherd calls out the Raiders' offseason acquisition of Geno Smith
Smith has, unquestionably, been one of the worst quarterbacks in the entire NFL this season. While some questioned the Raiders' decision to acquire him, the move was largely met with positive reviews at the time.
Additionally, it is hard to say anyone thought he would be this bad, as Las Vegas has the sixth-worst passing offense in the entire NFL. Cowherd called out the offseason decision during a recent episode of The Herd, labeling it as a mistake and a miscalculation.
"I understand sometimes you draft a quarterback and you don't really know how it's going to pan out because it's college football to pro. Geno has been in the league as long as I've been at FOX," Cowherd said. "You've got a lot of tape on Geno. You've got to know after all these years in the league what a guy is and what a guy isn't. The smart GMs are not surrendering a third-round pick. The Raiders could've had (Sam) Darnold. Nobody in the world thinks Geno is better than Darnold."
Cowherd questioned how Brock Bowers managed to finish with just one reception in the Raiders' 10-7 loss to the Denver Broncos on Thursday. He also noted that Carroll had a year away from football, where he should have been able to modernize, but instead acquired Smith to join him in Las Vegas.
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It is unclear if the Raiders truly would have had an opportunity to sign Darnold; however, they did not even give themselves a chance to do so. Las Vegas made the move to acquire Smith before free agency even started, ultimately eliminating any chance of landing Darnold.
While many questioned if Darnold would be able to replicate his elite season away from the Minnesota Vikings and head coach Kevin O'Connell, he has continued his success with the Seattle Seahawks. It was reported that Tom Brady was the one who was against bringing him to Las Vegas.
There were also reports that Smith was not the Raiders' first option, as the team attempted to acquire Matthew Stafford prior to him signing a contract extension with the Los Angeles Rams. Either way, it is clear that the move to acquire the two-time Pro Bowler has not worked out for Las Vegas.
Smith has thrown for 1,844 yards, 11 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and completed 66.7% of his pass attempts. While he was expected to bring some stability to the quarterback position, it is clear that the Raiders will likely, once again, be in the market for a signal-caller in the offseason.