Raiders' Offseason Move Deemed the Most Impactful in the NFL

Tom Blair of NFL.com believes Geno Smith will have more impact on the Raiders than any other traded player will have on their respective teams this upcoming season. Considering quarterback has been the Raiders' biggest weakness since Derek Carr's departure, Smith is a huge addition.

"As far as big-ticket QB acquisitions go, this move might have lacked the zest of, say, landing Matthew Stafford. Smith is not going to instantly infuse a team with Super Bowl buzz. He's not even a lock to finish 2025 as one of the top 10 players at his position. But is that so bad? Spring and summer hype have a way of crumbling in September; just ask the Jets fans who were celebrating what turned out to be the peak of the Aaron Rodgers era back in May of 2023," Blair said.

"Smith brings something more appealing to the table, an element his new team has been without for too long: a high floor. In each of the past three seasons, he posted a passer rating of 92.1 or better, which no Raiders QB managed to do in that span. It feels fairly safe to predict Smith will be, well, safe in Vegas, where he'll reunite with Pete Carroll (who first helped him reemerge as a viable NFL starter in Seattle) and be placed at the controls of a Chip Kelly offense fronted by tight end  and stud rookie running back . Establishing early stability will be essential for the Carroll-John Spytek regime to start strong," Blair said.

"Can Smith can win a Lombardi Trophy this season? Who knows? But he does have a good shot to make a Raiders reset finally stick, and that would be plenty impactful enough to justify his position here."

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