The NFL is officially in the dead period of the offseason, with all teams on break until the start of training camp in late July. However, players are still making headlines, because they always have cameras on them whenever they are in public. Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith was recently reminded of that as a video of him went viral.
Smith was in attendance at the OT7 tournament with his 7-on-7 team, and his squad seemingly just won a feisty matchup against another team. As a result, Smith was captured on video passionately telling someone, “That’s why they pay me the big bucks.” While repeating the statement several times, Smith was also being held back and redirected.
With the video only being 14 seconds, fans were curious the context of the situation, and if the Vegas quarterback was close to having an altercation. That led to Smith taking to social media to explain that this is just how people talk where he’s from, nothing more nothing less, and that he was just having fun with the game he loves. He even expressed that he’s heard worse at a family reunion spades table.
With Maxx Crosby letting Smith know he didn’t have to explain himself, the veteran quarterback explained that the event was an overall success for the youth, and the media should focus on that instead.
Geno Smith explains viral trash talk at 7-on-7 tournament
The 7-on-7 space has become a popular avenue for NFL players to give back to the youth, while also staying connected to the game they love. At this same OT7 tournament, former quarterback Cam Newton was present with his team, and so was former quarterback Robert Griffin III.
Of course, most of the content stays within the 7-on-7 space, but things like the video of Smith often makes its rounds. This weekend, a video also went viral of a top team from Florida stomping on Newton’s Auburn Jersey, before ultimately losing to the MVP’s team. Those kind of shenanigans and trash talk are just par for the course of 7-on-7 culture.