Nov 6, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) practices before the game at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Smith, Raiders Receive Scathing Review in Recent Evaluation

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Ezekiel Trezevant | Last updated Nov 12, 2025 11:30 AM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders' season has been derailed by several unforeseen factors.

Ranking Smith

Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports recently ranked every quarterback in the National Football League. Unsurprisingly, he ranked Raiders quarterback Geno Smith as the 29th-best quarterback in the NFL. The Raiders' struggles on offense are largely tied to Smith's league-leading 12 interceptions.

"There was a brief time when Geno belonged in the top-10 conversation for his improbable big-play moxie. That time has passed, which is a pretty good summary of the entire Raiders operation at this point," Benjamin said.

Although it is easy to bash quarterbacks, Smith undoubtedly needs to improve. He has singlehandedly lost multiple games for Las Vegas this season. Still, football will always be the ultimate team game, and Smith needs more help around him.

Smith has only played one game with the starting offensive line Las Vegas began the regular season with. The Raiders' offense also spent multiple games without Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer, both of whom much of Chip Kelly's offense is built around.

Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Las Vegas lost more starting offensive linemen against the Denver Broncos in Week 10. Following the loss to the Broncos, Raiders Head Coach Pete Carroll gave an update on the status of the Raiders' offensive line.

"Yeah, he will go on IR, and that it certainly does. We'll see how Dylan Parham does coming back, but we think he's going to make it back. And it does open up opportunities that we're going to give some guys a shot at it and see how that looks,” Carroll said.

“We've been kind of working the backup spot there for some time now, so that's kind of in line with what's been going on. We're going to miss JPJ [Jackson Powers Johnson]. He plays his butt off and really loves this program and shows it in everything that he does, but it's going to be a while before he gets back. But the IR thing will take care of that."

This article first appeared on Las Vegas Raiders on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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