2 New Raiders Veterans Will be Vital to Each Other's Success

Plenty of Similarities

Raiders General Manager John Spytek noted that part of why the Raiders chose Pickett was his similarities to Geno Smith. Pickett noted that he and Smith worked out this offseason, which only strengthen their bond as new teammates.

Both quarterbacks were traded to the Raiders within months of each other. They will help ach other through their respective journeys.

“Geno's [Smith] awesome. We got to work together every day in the offseason. It's actually crazy how this game works. He was like kind of my training partner. We were pushing each other every day in the weight room, on the field. We were throwing like three times a week," Pickett said.

"So, it's really funny now that we're teammates and we're kind of picking up right where we left off. He's an awesome guy to learn from, here for him, whatever he needs. You know, he's answering my questions. Obviously, I have a lot of them. I'm trying not to bother him too much, but it's a great relationship, for sure.” 

Pickett noted what he has learned about Smith on a personal level from their time together.

“Yeah, it's great. I just know that first things first, the type of person he is, he's just a great human being. It's a great place to start. All the football stuff will come from me and what I'm learning in the system and everything. But knowing I have a guy like that in the room, all the quarterbacks have been great so far. I trained with Cam [Miller] actually, in the summer. So, it's a small world, the football scene. It's great to have those guys in the room," Pickett said.

Pickett explained that his primary goal is to work as hard as he can to catch up on the things he missed. Although Pickett was in training camp before being traded by the Cleveland Browns, things are much different in Las Vegas, which gives Pickett a few things he must learn in a hurry.

“Just work. That's just the way I've been for a really long time, and I could tell that's the culture here. You know, I'm going to do everything in my power to be ready for these guys. These guys have been working a ton since the offseason program started. Like I said, I wasn't here for that. So, it's my job to do everything I can to be ready so I could be there for those guys," Pickett said.

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