The Las Vegas Raiders had arguably the worst quarterback situation in the NFL last season with Gardner Minshew, Aidan O'Connell and Desmond Ridder. Fortunately, a massive upgrade came this offseason in the form of Geno Smith.
Smith is now reunited with head coach Pete Carroll, who he won the 2022 Comeback Player of the Year award under. He also went to two straight Pro Bowls, but fell off a bit last season when Carroll left the Seattle Seahawks.
At 34 years old, Smith is far from the team's long-term solution at the position. However, he is more than capable of leading the Raiders to the playoffs and helping the young offensive pieces develop into star players in the NFL. Smith's luck may also be changing ahead of the 2025 season.
Geno Smith had worst luck with Seahawks in 2024
On Friday, NFL.com's Kevin Patra highlighted the players who had the worst luck in the league during the 2024 season. To no surprise, Smith landed on the list.
"Smith put up a career-high 4,320 yards passing in 2024 in a pass-happy Seattle offense. That figure could have been higher if not for yellow hankies," Patra wrote. "Smith (now with the Raiders) had 249 passing yards negated by penalties in 2024, the most in the NFL."
Had it not been for penalties, Smith would have recorded the third-most passing yards in the NFL last year. While he finished fourth despite the bad luck, he would have surpassed Baker Mayfield and been right on Jared Goff's tail for second without the penalties.
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Fortunately, Smith's bad luck should run out this season. Last year, the Raiders were 25th in total penalties called and they had the third-least accepted against them. By contrast, the Seahawks had the seventh-most calls against them and the ninth-most accepted.
This should mean that Smith has far less passing yards negated by penalties in 2025 than he did last season with the Seahawks. That can only increase his total output and keep the offense from stalling, which will be pivotal with a slew of young players expected to play major snaps in Las Vegas.
The Raiders may not have things all figured out for this season, but even in a brutal 2024 campaign, this group proved that they are disciplined. At least four of the same offensive linemen will be starting, and the team's top two offensive pieces will remain the same.
So, with a better quarterback like Geno Smith, and with Smith heading into a better situation, this could be a more dangerous unit than most expect in 2025.