When Geno Smith knew he'd go from Seahawks to Raiders during the offseason

Quarterback Geno Smith first played under Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll from 2019-23 when Carroll was head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. Thus, it was hardly surprising that Las Vegas acquired Smith from Seattle this past offseason shortly after the Raiders hired Carroll. 

For a piece published on Monday, Smith spoke with Ryan McFadden of ESPN about the events that led him to Las Vegas following the 2024 season. 

Geno Smith had options other than Raiders?

"When Carroll signed here, I knew he would be coming for me, and it was a matter of time before that happened," Smith explained. "The other options [I had], I kind of took them off the table. I looked at their offers, and they were decent offers, but I wanted to be with coach Carroll."

It's now known that Raiders minority owner Tom Brady signed off on first-year general manager John Spytek landing Smith and signing the 34-year-old to a two-year, $85.5M extension that included $66.5M guaranteed. In Las Vegas' 20-13 Week 1 win at the New England Patriots, Smith set a franchise debut record when he passed for 362 yards. 

According to ESPN stats, Smith heads into the "Monday Night Football" matchup versus the 1-0 Los Angeles Chargers ranked 13th in the NFL among qualified players with a 65.6 adjusted QBR and eighth with a 102.8 passer rating for the ongoing campaign. 

"Pete knew everything there was to know about him, and he had played his best football for Pete," Spytek said about Smith during a recent conversation with Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic. "And so when we talked about what we wanted…you listen to (Pete) talk (about Smith) and 'he’s got this trait and this trait and this trait,' and that’s all the stuff we’re looking for. That allowed me to ask questions. 'What about this?' 'Yup. Yup. Yup.' …Pete had a front-row seat to that. When I’ve manifested in my head what I’ve wanted in a quarterback…it was a lot of the same stuff that Pete could confirm that Geno had. And ultimately, it just felt like he was the right guy for us right now, to be the kind of football team we want to be."

Geno Smith feels he finally has a home

Smith began the offseason on track to enter the final year of the three-year contract that was signed in March 2023. The Seahawks clearly viewed Sam Darnold as an upgrade at the position, as they signed him to a three-year, $100.5M deal in March. 

Seattle giving up on Smith is just fine with the veteran, who now feels at home with the Raiders. 

"I finally got my team," Smith told McFadden. "I always felt like I was trying to replace [Russell Wilson in Seattle], and you can never replace all the great things that he did. So I never felt like Seattle was my team. Also, I didn't feel like I fit the aesthetic of the Seattle organization. The Raiders just fit me."

As of Monday morning, ESPN Bet had the Raiders as 3.5-point home underdogs for their prime-time game against the Chargers.