Pete Carroll moved from Seattle to Las Vegas, and Geno Smith is moving with him, too. The Seahawks have traded the veteran quarterback to the Raiders in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick, according to CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones.
Smith, 34, played under Carroll during the coach’s final four years in Seattle. A 2013 second-round pick who began his career with the New York Jets, Smith spent the last three seasons as the Seahawks’ starting quarterback. He went 28-24 as Seattle’s starter that including helping lead the franchise to a playoff berth in 2022. Smith, who earned Pro Bowl nods in 2022 and in 2023, completed 70.4% of his passes last season.
In Smith, Caroll has a proven, veteran quarterback in tow as he begins his first season as the Raiders head coach. But while the Raiders have found their next quarterback, the Seahawks will have to find their new signal-caller.Seattle is also in the market for a receiver after releasing veteran Tyler Lockett. Two-time Pro Bowl wideout DK Metcalf has also requested a trade out of Seattle.
Here’s our instant trade grades for both teams.
Raiders: B+
Carroll isn’t interested in a long rebuild, so it makes perfect sense for him to go out and acquire a proven veteran who can bring some level of stability to Las Vegas. Having Smith on board gives the Raiders a chance at being competitive in 2025. And based on how he’s played in recent years, Smith still has some good football left him.
Smith is good, but he is coming off a season that saw him throw 15 interceptions, his highest total since his rookie season. He also isn’t a long-term QB solution (he has one year left on his current deal), so the Raiders should still look to acquire a young quarterback either this or next offseason. Las Vegas could still elect to draft a quarterback with the sixth overall pick in this year’s draft, but now that they have Smith, they have the option to utilize that pick on another position.
Like most older quarterbacks, Smith can only truly have success at this stage of his career if he has a strong supporting cast around him. That is not currently the case in Las Vegas, however, so the Raiders need to have a highly successful offseason if they want Smith to play up to his potential.
Seahawks: C+
Is Seattle embarking on a reboot or a rebuild? Either way, the Seahawks have decided to change course after enjoying moderate success with Smith under center. The issue is that the Seahawks have not only gotten rid of Smith, they’ve also parted ways with one of franchise’s all-time greats (Lockett) and could possibly lose their best offensive player (Metcalf).
On top of that, the Seahawks don’t have a great alternative plan at quarterback. At this point, the team’s starting quarterback is Sam Howell, who does have one year of starting experience under his belt after being the Commanders‘ starting QB for each of Washington’s 17 games in 2023. Howell led the NFL in attempts that season, throwing 21 touchdowns and completing nearly 64% of his passes. But he also threw a league-high 21 interceptions and was sacked a league-high 65 times.
Howell is an option, but like the Raiders, the Seahawks still need to due their due diligence at quarterback. Seattle has the 18th overall pick in the draft and could use that pick to select Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart, the third-ranked QB prospect in this year’s draft. Seattle also can try to sign either Aaron Rodgers or Sam Darnold. There is also the possibility of trading for Falcons QB Kirk Cousins.
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Author: Bryan DeArdo
March 7, 2025 | 9:00 pm
