Jun 11, 2025; Henderson, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) throws the ball during Las Vegas Raiders Minicamp at Intermountain Health Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images Candice Ward-Imagn Images

What Are the Expectations for Raiders QB Geno Smith?

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Michael Canelo | Last updated Jun 19, 2025 7:00 AM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders are heading in the right direction this offseason. All the moves they have made have put the franchise in a position to be successful not only in 2025 but in the future.

The new regime of head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek has put their best foot forward this offseason to put the Silver and Black in the best position to be successful heading into the new season. The team looks different, but in all the good ways a team wants to look in an offseason. There is a lot of buzz coming out of Las Vegas with the new regime in place.

Carroll and Spytek then traded for the quarterback they wanted, Geno Smith. Smith gives the Raiders a massive upgrade for the team. They have been looking for a quarterback like Smith for a long time. Now that they have him, he will build that chemistry with the team and all the coaches. He reunites with Carroll after they spent time together in Seattle, and Carroll helped Smith turn his career around.

Now that the Raiders have their quarterback, the expectations for the team have gone up. There is no secret that the team wants to play in the most important games at the end of the season, but they have to do all the small things right from the offseason all the way through the season. And now they have the right man leading them on the field at the most important position in the NFL.

Our Hondo Carpenter and Matt Hladik talked about what the expectations are for Geno Smith in his first season with the Raiders on a recent episode of the "Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast."

"I think he has become sort of still slept on in a lot of ways because a lot of people cannot get over the beginning of his career with the Jets," said Hladik. "So, I think in some ways, there are fans who still have this perception of Geno Smith where he is not a serious quarterback because of how his career started. I think that is unfair."

"I think he is going to be a major stabilizer for the Raiders. I expect him to play marketably better than what you saw last season from Aiden O'Connell, Desmond Ridder, and Gardner Minshew."