Could Raiders bench struggling Geno Smith amid 1-4 start to season?

Geno Smith was one of the NFL's most disappointing quarterbacks of the opening five weeks of the season as the Las Vegas Raiders fell to 1-4. 

For a piece published on Wednesday morning, ESPN NFL insiders Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano touched upon whether the Raiders are worried enough about Smith to consider making a quarterback change ahead of Halloween. 

What is Raiders' concern level regarding Geno Smith?

"I would classify it as mildly concerned," Fowler said. "The Raiders know Smith has to play better -- and soon -- but there's no sentiment that Smith is a broken quarterback. So I'm not expecting him to get benched or anything this week."

Smith and the Raiders agreed to a two-year, $85.5M contract extension that included $66.5M guaranteed shortly after Las Vegas acquired the 34-year-old from the Seattle Seahawks during the offseason. According to Pro Football Reference stats, he tossed a league-high nine interceptions over the campaign's first five weeks. He'll enter Week 6 ranked 27th in the NFL among qualified players with a 37.1 adjusted QBR and 30th with a 75.6 passer rating. 

Following the preseason, the Raiders acquired 2022 first-round draft pick Kenny Pickett from the Cleveland Browns. For Wednesday's article, Graziano noted that "it sounds like the Raiders will ride it out with Smith" through at least this coming Sunday's home game versus the Tennessee Titans (1-4). 

"What I'm hearing from a lot of people around the league is that offensive coordinator Chip Kelly's scheme isn't creating enough advantages to overcome the Raiders' personnel deficiencies, and there's no margin for error if Smith keeps turning the ball over as much as he has," Graziano added. 

Why Raiders could eventually turn to Kenny Pickett

The fact that the Raiders didn't spend a high draft pick on a signal-caller this past spring caused some to think the club was planning on sticking with Smith for a minimum of two seasons. However, Graziano pointed out that the Raiders aren't really married to Smith beyond the ongoing campaign. 

"He has an $18.5M salary guarantee for 2026 after making $40M this year," Graziano said about Smith's deal. "If the Raiders cut him after this season, they'd have paid him $58.5M for one (presumably disappointing) year. That's a lot, but...this team wants to win soon. If absorbing $18.5M in dead money next year to move on helps them do that, I doubt it would stand in the Raiders' way."

For now, Smith and Co. will look to end a four-game losing streak at Allegiant Stadium this Sunday. As of Wednesday morning, ESPN BET had the Raiders as 4.5-point favorites over the Titans.