Geno Smith appears destined to be one-and-done with the Las Vegas Raiders. The 2025 season did not go according to plan, and now his biggest ally, head coach Pete Carroll, has been fired.
After the news broke of Carroll’s firing, Smith decided to remove all references to the Raiders on his Instagram account. This is usually an athlete’s way to suggest that he no longer wants to be part of that team.
However, it appears that Smith has leveled out and decided to pivot. He posted a slideshow that featured several pictures from the 2025 season.
“Grateful for the challenges. I appreciate all the lessons learned,” Smith wrote in the caption. “Bigger and Better days ahead.
“LOVE.”
It’s unclear why Smith decided to scrub his Instagram before only to pivot now. It’s possible that he wasn’t happy with Carroll getting fired. Raiders fans also weren’t very kind to Smith throughout the season, so it’s hard to imagine he feels a lot of kinship with the franchise.
His agent could’ve reminded him that his most lucrative option for 2026 is staying with the Raiders, even if he has to be a backup to a rookie. Either way, it looks like he’s not closing the doors on Las Vegas completely.
John Spytek Addresses Smith’s Future
Smith played very poorly in 2025. He led the NFL with 17 interceptions despite missing two games. He was also tied for the most sacks taken of any quarterback.
With the Raiders landing the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, many expect them to take a quarterback, which makes Smith expendable. Cutting him would only leave an $18.5 million dead cap hit.
It’s too early to know for sure if the Raiders will cut him, but general manager John Spytek avoided offering anything definitive when asked about the quarterback.
“Yeah, Geno is under contract for next year,” Spytek told reporters on Monday. “We did that because when we traded for him, we liked him. I’m not going to get too far into the future right now, I’m day by day, but he’s one of the guys that’s under contract, he’s a quarterback, he played some good football this year, and we’ll make those decisions going forward.”
Could Raiders Keep Smith?
A divorce between the Raiders and Smith might be the most obvious outcome. He didn’t seem to have a good experience, and the fan base has soured on him.
That said, Smith has a long history of being a strong backup. The Raiders are going to have to pay him either way next year, so perhaps they could re-work his contract a bit that makes sense for both sides.
With a rookie likely coming in, it doesn’t hurt to have a veteran like Smith around. There’s also the fact that he could potentially have some trade value down the road. There were a lot of big-name quarterback injuries this season. If Joe Flacco can get traded, so can Smith. However, nobody is going to trade for him now since they think the Raiders are going to cut him. That could change during the season.
Geno Smith Makes Notable Pivot After Trying to Distance Himself From Raiders