The future of Geno Smith with the Las Vegas Raiders remains uncertain, as it will be interesting to see which direction new head coach Klint Kubiak takes. Nonetheless, if the Silver and Black do cut ties with Smith, he will have suitors decide his disastrous 2025 season.
This offseason, teams looking to bolster their QB position could decide to take a gamble on Smith. Moreover, another team could believe that the veteran’s poor performance last season was due to the Raiders’ offensive line being a mess and limited weapons.
As a result, The Athletic’s Derrik Klassen believes that if the Raiders move on from Smith, the Vikings are an ideal spot for him. Moreover, he believes that if the Las Vegas QB had been on the Minnesota Vikings this past season, they would have had double-digit wins. As a result, he’s urging the Vikings to consider Smith as a QB option this offseason.
“I’ll hop back on the Geno Smith [to the Vikings],” Klassen said on the Feb. 13 edition of The Athletic Football Show. “[The Vikings are] an 11- win team with Geno Smith. If he’s throwing to Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, and has that offensive line, which I don’t think is a special offensive line but is leaps and bounds better than what he was stuck behind in Las Vegas last year.
“Again, I don’t know if it’s going to be superstar level, maybe not even as good as peak Seattle or whatever, but to me it is going to be a tier or two above what J.J. McCarthy was giving you.”
Insider Believes Geno Smith Could Be Option for Minnesota
Amid rumors that the Vikings are looking for a QB, NFL insider Tom Pelissero shared that Kyler Murray and Smith could be options for Minnesota if either player is cut by their respective teams this offseason.
“The Vikings have not yet made a decision exactly what they’re going to do with their quarterback room, but they are expected to bring in a veteran to compete with J.J. McCarthy. It’s very early in that process,” Pelissero said on Feb. 8 during an appearance on “NFL Gameday.”
“The Vikings just fired their GM a week or so ago here, but it’s not hard to figure out who some of the potential fits could be. Mac Jones in a trade would be a pretty expensive move. If Geno Smith or Kyler Murray become available via release, those could be options for Minnesota.”
Raiders Urged to Keep Geno Smith Rather Than Cutting Ties
While many Raiders fans would be happy to see Smith leave after one season, ESPN’s Mike Tannenbaum believes that he is still the ideal player to serve as a stopgap QB for Las Vegas rather than cutting ties with him.
“I am drafting Fernando Mendoza No. 1,” Tannenbaum said on the Feb. 13 edition of “Get Up” before saying what many Raiders fans will find controversial. “I am not playing him from Day 1. Geno Smith is under contract. He’s the ideal bridge quarterback.
“You just gave up a third-round pick for him… but I think the Raiders are set up ideally at the quarterback position with Geno Smith [and] Fernando Mendoza.”
Raiders QB Geno Smith Hit With Major Take Amid Vikings Rumor