It certainly wasn't all his fault, but the 2025 NFL season was an outright disaster for Geno Smith. What at first looked like a promising reunion with Pete Carroll turned out to be a miss on all fronts, including Carroll's decision to keep Smith exempt from losing his job due to poor performance.
With Carroll gone, Smith is sure to follow him, as long as the Raiders can make it work financially. New head coach Klint Kubiak took his previous job with the Seattle Seahawks due, apparently, in large part to wanting to work with Smith, which of course did not happen.
But any idea that Smith could remain in Las Vegas as Fernando Mendoza's backup or mentor based on Kubiak's prior comments doesn't really hold water. Smith is unlikely to want that kind of role, and he wouldn't be very good at it anyway.
As the quarterback carousel spins this offseason, someone could see Smith as a starting-caliber quarterback who simply found himself in a rough situation with the Raiders. At a minimum, there should be opportunities out there for him to compete for a starting job. Like the Miami Dolphins.
Raiders should watch Dolphins for opportunity to offload Geno Smith
Some potential new teams obviously make more sense for Smith than others, based on where they are on the contender versus non-contender scale and/or who comprises their quarterback depth chart.
Andy Quack of Raiders on SI recently offered three teams who could trade for Smith, but the Dolphins stand out above the others.
"The Miami Dolphins currently have three quarterbacks under contract for the 2026 season: Quinn Ewers, Cam Miller, and Tua Tagovailoa. The team benched Tagovailoa this year, despite still owing him over $175 million in cap hit over the next three years. Miami has reportedly been willing to include draft capital to get off of his contract in a trade.
"Regardless of what they do with Tagovailoa, the Dolphins need some kind of solution under center. The Raiders, with their ample cap space, could offer Miami a two-fold answer. Las Vegas could send Geno Smith and his talents to South Beach, take back Tagovailoa and his massive contract as a backup for Mendoza, and net some extra draft capital in the process."
The Dolphins have already started their house cleaning with a new general manager and head coach in place, cutting multiple veterans. The biggest domino in that reset is Tagovailoa, and his seemingly immovable contract. But the Raiders could theoretically absorb it and offload Smith to them.
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NFL insider Jordan Schultz recently reported the new regime in Miami's preference is to trade Tagovailoa. But as expected, the decision is not expected to be dragged out for too long, and the veteran quarterback could just as easily be cut or released.
Though they have plenty of cap space, the Raiders will absolutely not be taking Tagovailoa in any hypothetical trade sending Smith to Miami. But if the Dolphins can find a way to offload their overpaid quarterback as painlessly as possible, they may be in the market for a veteran starting quarterback.
Smith is also a Miami-area native, so if he had a choice, the Dolphins may even be his preferred destination. The Raiders would also prefer to trade him rather than cut him, since they can clear his entire $26.5 million cap hit off the books with a trade rather than take on an $18.5 million dead cap hit.
The Dolphins may be ready, for once, to completely bottom out next season and earn the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. If nothing else, after being part of the Raiders doing the same last season, Smith can be an intended part of that quest this time around.