The Las Vegas Raiders were aggressive in addressing the quarterback need this offseason. They tried to trade for Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, but he decided to stay put.
After that fell through, the Raiders pivoted and pursued a trade for Seattle Seahawksquarterback Geno Smith. Head coach Pete Carroll was a big fan of his from when they worked together in Seattle.
While the Seahawks were willing to extend Smith, he thought it was time for a fresh start. He saw the Raiders as a much better fit for his personality.
“Vegas is perfect for me,”Smith told ESPN ahead of the Raiders’ Monday Night Football matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. “… Me being a Miami kid, and how I was raised and act, I really didn’t fit the culture [in Seattle].”
Smith also didn’t love the fact that he had to replace a quarterback who had a lot of success with the Seahawks.
“I finally got my team,” Smith said. “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.
Smith Didn’t See Long-Term Future in Seattle
The Seahawks have been a pretty cutthroat organization in recent years. They fired Carroll, who led them to the franchise’s only Super Bowl win, and traded away Wilson, who made nine Pro Bowls with the team.
Smith noticed that the Seahawks were comfortable getting rid of team legends, so he didn’t feel secure there.
“Shoot, if they let him go, they let Russell go, the writing is on the wall, you know,” Smith said. “Eventually, they’re going to try to find someone younger, which every team does. I wasn’t mad at that, but it was more so how they were going about it, like, the honesty of it all. I felt like they were trying not to tell me what direction they were going.”
This feeling was made stronger after he asked for a new contract before the 2024 season, but didn’t get one.
“I think that’s a fair question to ask anybody,” Smith said. “They didn’t have a definitive answer. … It was kind of up in the air. And so for me, going into the [2024] season, I was like, ‘OK, well, this may be my last season here.’ I literally had a playlist called ‘The Last Dance.’ I wanted to go out there and give it my all for my teammates.”
Smith Figured Raiders Would Go After Him
When the Raiders hired Carroll, they had no answer at quarterback. Gardner Minshew got cut, and Aidan O’Connell was a realistic option to start.
Smith knew that the Raiders could be his future home once he saw the offseason play out.
“When Carroll signed here, I knew he would be coming for me, and it was a matter of time before that happened,” Smith said. “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.
