The Las Vegas Raiders were just 4-13 last season as they finished tied for the fourth-worst record in the entire NFL. The team struggled tremendously on the offensive end, ranking 29th in scoring offense and 27th in total yards.
While the league's worst rushing attack played a significant role in the poor offense, the quarterback room was also among the league's worst. The trio of Gardner Minshew, Aidan O'Connell and Desmond Ridder all made at least one start for Las Vegas, and all three performed very poorly.
Due to the struggles at the position, new general manager John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll sent a third-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for veteran Geno Smith. Despite the significant upgrade at quarterback, the Raiders' unit was recently ranked as one of the worst in the league.
Raiders QB room ranked as a bottom-ten unit
In addition to their acquisition of Smith, the Raiders traded for Kenny Pickett to serve as the backup, as O'Connell will begin the year on injured reserve. While the unit figures to be much better than last season, The Athletic's Saad Yousuf ranked Las Vegas' group as the seventh-worst in the NFL.
"It’s never a glowing indication of your quarterback situation when you have to trade for your backup less than two weeks before the start of the regular season, but that’s the position the Raiders were in after O’Connell’s injury," Yousuf wrote. "On the bright side, at least this year’s starting quarterback battle wasn’t between O’Connell and Gardner Minshew."
The Raiders quarterback room should see a significant improvement in 2025, as Smith is coming off yet another strong season. In his final year with the Seahawks, the two-time Pro Bowler threw for a career-best 4,320 yards, as well as 21 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
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He also completed 70.4% of his pass attempts, which was among the best in the league, while adding 272 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 53 carries.
Smith has consistently been among the league's best quarterbacks since re-entering a starting role in 2022. Over the past three seasons, he ranked fourth in passing yards and completion percentage while ranking eighth in passing touchdowns.
Pickett is a former first-round pick with starting experience who is fresh off a season with the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, and O'Connell has more experience than most other third-stringers in the league.
If Smith is able to stay healthy and continues to perform at the same level, there is no reason that Las Vegas should have a bottom-ten quarterback room.