Hopeful Geno Smith gets real on state of the Raiders

It's not been an ideal season for quarterback Geno Smith, head coach Pete Carroll, and the Las Vegas Raiders.

The hope when bringing in Carroll and Smith was that the pair would be able to replicate the success they had together with the Seattle Seahawks.

That hasn't been the case, though, to say the least. Las Vegas is 2-12 this season and could very well finish 2-15. In the meantime, Smith, who was a two-time Pro Bowl quarterback under Carroll in Seattle, has thrown for 2,648 yards and just 16 touchdowns compared to 14 interceptions.

Smith is signed through 2027 with the Raiders, and he wants to see it through. Recently speaking to the media, he relayed that he wants to be a part of the turnaround.

"I'm expecting to win a lot of games here," he said, according to Ryan McFadden of ESPN.

Geno Smith and Las Vegas Raiders feel urgency to turn things around 

Smith did admit that he did not expect this season to be as bad as it has been for the Raiders, though. He was expecting to be on a competitive team, but that's not the reality the Raiders are existing in at the moment.

That doesn't mean things can't change, but you have to admit there's a problem before you can fix it. There is an urgency to do that in the organization.

"That's what we're pressing towards, and nothing happens in one day [or] one year," Smith said. "We would have loved to win the Super Bowl this year, but that's not our reality right now. The reality is we've got to get better, and we've got to focus on getting better day to day, and anything else outside of that really is nonsense."

The Raiders can release Smith this offseason for a dead cap hit of $18.5 million. If he stays with the team, he'll represent a cap hit of $26.5 million in 2026 and $39.5 million in 2027. There's no guaranteed money in 2027, though, so he could be released then with no cap hit.

It doesn't sound like he wants to go, but if things keep going this poorly in Vegas, he may not have a choice.