Geno Smith trade grades: Seahawks deal veteran QB to Raiders for 2025 third-round pick

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. 

Money was reportedly one of the mains reasons why the Seahawks dealt Smith. The two sides were roughly $10 million apart in negotiations, according to Sports Illustrated. Seattle was hoping to sign Smith to an extension that would pay him about $35 million annually, but Smith’s camp was reportedly hoping for a deal that would pay him $45 million per season. Smith is currently entering the final year of his three-year, $75 million deal. He is the 19th highest-paid quarterback in terms of average annual salary, according to Over the Cap.

Seattle initially offered Smith and DK Metcalf to Las Vegas in exchange for pass rusher Maxx Crosby, but the Raiders shot that down, according to the SI report. The Raiders instead signed Crosby to an extension that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.  

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, Carroll 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. 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, 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 a two-time Pro Bowl receiver (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.