With free agency about to kick off, the Las Vegas Raiders needed to make a decision on quarterback Geno Smith. He had guarantees kick in at the start of the new league year, but cutting before then would lead to some salary cap savings.
The Raiders could’ve held onto him and used him as a veteran to keep in the quarterback room while Fernando Mendoza develops, but that won’t be the case. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Las Vegas has decided to cut ties with Smith.
They are now going to have an $18.5 million dead salary cap hit this season, while saving only $8 million. There was an argument that the Raiders should’ve kept Smith and tried to trade him down the road, but it’s clear they just wanted to move on.
Smith is coming off a wildly disappointing season. He was supposed to be a big upgrade at quarterback for the Raiders, but ended up leading the NFL with 17 interceptions and only winning two games as a starter.
Smith had a very strong three-year stretch as the starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, but that success didn’t translate in Las Vegas. The Raiders are likely to use the No. 1 pick in the draft to select a quarterback, so they must have felt like there was no reason to keep Smith around.
Raiders Tried to Trade Smith
It sounds like if the Raiders were going to eventually trade Smith, they would’ve had to be patient. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Raiders were aggressively trying to trade him in recent days, but couldn’t find a suitor.
Perhaps if they kept him going into the season, he would’ve had some trade value if there was an injury. The Raiders didn’t want to have to wait that long. Smith should land on his feet. There are plenty of teams that will be willing to take a chance on him to see if he can return to Seattle form.
For the Raiders, they gave up a third-round pick last year and wasted a lot of money on a quarterback who led them to two wins.
Could Raiders Bring in Different Veteran QB?
What will be interesting now is if the Raiders decide to bring in a different veteran quarterback. Aidan O’Connell is still on the roster, so he could be an option, but the team might want to bring in at least one more veteran.
Derek Carr could make some sense if he’s coming out of retirement, but that seems unlikely, as he’s hoping to win. Kirk Cousins will be a free agent, and he has worked with head coach Klint Kubiak before. Perhaps they’ll want to reunite, but he might want to go somewhere he has a better chance to start.
The Raiders don’t seem eager to start a rookie quarterback in Week 1 of the 2026 season, but if the pick is Mendoza, he’s as close to NFL-ready as a college prospect can be. The goal isn’t for the Raiders to win a ton of games in 2026. The goal should be to continue to develop the young players and start making some positive strides on both sides of the ball.
Raiders Make Bold Roster Move to Open $8 Million in Salary Cap: Report