The Las Vegas Raiders traded Davante Adams for a third-round pick last season, then turned around and sent that pick to the Seattle Seahawks for Geno Smith in the offseason. Given the Raiders' intense quarterback struggles last year, essentially swapping Adams for Smith seemed like a win.
Obviously, Pete Carroll had a major hand in this deal, but Las Vegas' entire front office feels like it now has egg on its face, thanks to Smith's brutally inept play. Barring injury, Smith will almost certainly finish out the season as the starter, but his future is at least somewhat in question after that.
By no measure has he played like a starting NFL quarterback this season, but if Carroll sticks around, that relationship might be enough for him to get another chance. But if a young signal-caller comes along, or the right price point is hit in a trade, then it could (and should) be out of Carroll's hands.
Raiders would celebrate if they could flip Geno Smith for early Day 3 pick
On Thursday, The Ringer's Diante Lee wrote about the upcoming quarterback carousel during the 2026 offseason, and he listed the Raiders as a team in need of a new player under center. Duh. His prediction was that the team would draft a young player and pair him with a veteran backup.
While the fan base would be more than fine with that scenario playing out, it begs the question of what happens to Smith. Well, Lee wrote about Smith possibly being on the move, even saying that the veteran signal-caller could net a fourth or a fifth-round pick for Las Vegas in a trade.
"Teams desperately looking for a Band-Aid in 2026 could offer the Raiders a couple of day-three picks to get a deal done—especially if Las Vegas already has its sights set on Smith’s replacement," Lee wrote. "He still has just enough arm talent to squeeze out some wins on a playoff-quality offense, but to work around his cold streaks, the team adding him needs to be equipped with the type of offensive personnel and scheme that Las Vegas does not have."
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It may be true that the Raiders have failed Smith in some ways, most notably by not giving him a great offensive line (well, a great offensive line coach) and trading away his top wide receiver. But Smith struggles even when the offensive line holds up, and he was even worse before Jakobi Meyers left.
Recouping an early Day 3 draft pick after sending a premier Day 2 selection the year prior would be a dream scenario for the Silver and Black. Hopefully, the perception of Smith that Lee wrote about still lives in some NFL front offices, because any faith in him has dwindled in Las Vegas.
Smith may very well lead this Raiders team to a 2-15 record, or something close to it, which would position them nicely for one of the very top picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. Although not his intention, that could change the franchise forever if they land the right young signal-caller.
When zooming out, Smith's one-year rental could give them a future under center at the small price of essentially moving back a few rounds in next year's draft. Raider Nation had to endure a tough year, but that's unfortunately the norm at this point. This, however, could be light at the end of the tunnel.