The Las Vegas Raiders have now lost seven games in a row and are 2-11 on the season. In a year where all of this change was supposed to bring some level of competence, the complete opposite has happened. The main moves this team made were hiring Pete Carroll and trading for Geno Smith.
On paper, those moves weren't bad, as both Carroll and Smith were good, not great, at what they do, and the Raiders weren't really trying to contend for a Super Bowl or anything. They just needed some upgrades and stability for a few years.
A new front office was also brought in, so for a time, a little bit of optimism hit the franchise. And after a 1-0 start to the season, beating the New England Patriots, no less, things were indeed pointing up. But the Raiders have since gone 1-11, and absolutely nothing has worked.
Raiders should rip Band-Aid off next offseason and cut Geno Smith
There might not be a player under fire more in Las Vegas than Geno Smith, and rightfully so. His poor play could leave the front office with a massive, but easy, $18 million decision to make this coming offseason.
The Las Vegas Raiders simply have to pull the plug on the Geno Smith experiment as soon as the year ends, as he's not only an unplayable quarterback at this point, but fans just don't get the sense that he has particularly enjoyed playing for Las Vegas.
Raider Nation has also seen enough, it seems. The team could cut Geno Smith next offseason and be forced to absorb a dead cap hit of $18.5 million. That may seem like a lot, but in the long term, it's a move that has to be made, period. Plus, they'd save $8 million in 2026 and $39.5 million in 2027.
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Smith has completed 67% of his passes this year, which isn't bad, but for only 2,648 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. He leads the league in interceptions and has a subpar passer rating of 84.5. He's also been sacked 49 times, which is the most in the league.
This wasn't what the Raiders envisioned, as Smith was a steady presence during his short stint as the Seattle Seahawks' starting quarterback. The Raiders would have loved some of that modest production for a couple of years while the front office drafted its future under center.
In theory, it would have been a perfect plan, but it has not gone well in practice, and the Raiders shouldn't try to make Geno Smith work. The best course of action would be to eat that dead cap hit, sign a different veteran, and swing for the fences on a quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft.