Smith Brings Much of What the Raiders Have Been Missing

By signing Smith, the Raiders gained a quarterback who has nearly more experience than Gardner Minshew, Aidan O'Connell, and Desmond Ridder combined. In Smith, the Raiders have a quarterback who is healthier than Jimmy Garoppolo ever was in Las Vegas.

Following Organized Team Activities, Raiders second-year offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson elaborated on what Smith does for the Raiders.

"I mean, a lot of experience and a lot of calmness. Like, you need somebody at the helm that's been through a lot and who knows what to do. I think that's huge. He knows what to do, and he's teaching all of us. He knows almost every position, it's crazy. He can talk to the left tackle, he can talk to the receiver, he can talk to a tight end. Like, when you're out there in those situations, it's calming to know that I'm playing with somebody who's been through it so many times," Powers-Johnson said.

“So much experience. I call him an old man every day, but he's got so much fire and like, so much youth to him. And the knowledge of the game, how he does it, the passion he does it with, it's second to none. I've had such a fun time being able to snap to him and being able to watch him."

Raiders' Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly also raved about Smith's experience and love for the game.

"Geno is a football guy, like Geno loves ball. You'll get a phone call after phase two - we'll talk on a Tuesday night about what transpired that  day, and we're going against ourselves, like we hadn't gone against the defense yet, but have a conversation about this, and then, 'How do you see this?' And really lean on him a little bit, because of his wealth of experience, and he's been through different coordinators in this league, and some really good ones," Kelly said.

"So like, 'Hey, how did Shane [Wadron] do this when you were with him?' Or, 'How did [Ryan] Grubb do this when you were with him?' And kind of pick his brain that way, and then put together what's the best thing for us going forward. But he's great. Geno is literally like a second coach. When you're in that room with him and Greg Olson, there's a lot of ideas going around, and then it's just a matter of corralling it, because sometimes you can have too many ideas, like let's try to do a million things, and then you don't get good at one thing. But his football acumen is really off the charts, and it's impressive to be around him."

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