The Las Vegas Raiders traded for Geno Smith last offseason, hoping he'd be able to help the team contend for the postseason. Unfortunately, things did not work out in Sin City. Pete Carroll was fired after one season as head coach. And now, Smith is gone, as well.
Smith is being released by the Raiders, as first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter. This move officially ends the veteran signal-caller's disastrous one-season tenure in Vegas. As a result of this move, the Raiders save around $8 million in cap while incurring $18.5 million in dead money.
The Raiders sent a third-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for Smith last year. As mentioned, though, the move did not work out. Smith did not turn in great performances during the year. He played 15 games, barely throwing for 3000 yards, tossing 19 touchdowns to 17 interceptions.
Vegas is now moving forward with a clean slate in nearly every facet of the organization. The Raiders hired Klint Kubiak to be their next head coach. Kubiak recently won the Super Bowl with the Seahawks as their offensive coordinator. This is his first shot as a head coach at the NFL level.
Kubiak will have his choice of signal-caller, as well. Vegas owns the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. All indications point to the Raiders selecting Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy and a national championship with the Hoosiers this past season.
Smith hits NFL Free Agency this coming week and will look for a fresh start of his own. Where he lands obviously remains to be seen. In any event, his free agency will certainly be one of the more interesting ones to monitor in the coming days.
