Las Vegas Raiders general manager John Spytek recently spoke about the Geno Smith trade, elaborating on why the move made sense for the Silver and Black.
While discussing the move with Eddie Paskal on “Upon Further Review,” Spytek raved about Geno’s prospects (and more importantly, his arm) while also clarifying how team brass came to the decision to move in on Smith.
“Obviously there’s a familiarity with Coach (Pete Carroll) and with Geno from Seattle, and really, Geno played his best football for Coach there. When you’ve watched Geno through the years, he can throw the football better than any of them, honestly. You watch some of the throws he makes over and over again. The touch is there; the arm strength is there.”
March saw the Seahawks deal Smith to the Raiders for a third-round selection. Following time with the New York Jets (2013–16), New York Giants (2017), and Los Angeles Chargers (2018), the 34-year-old spent the previous five seasons with the Seahawks.
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In 2022, Smith became Seattle’s starting quarterback. Smith played for Carroll both years, and he made it to the Pro Bowl in 2022 and 2023. Over the last three seasons, the West Virginia product has passed for 12,226 yards and 71 touchdowns—that’s far better than anything the Raiders have fielded in that same span.
As for Carroll, he left the Seahawks after 14 years as head coach, therefore offering 2024. This summer, he signed with the Raiders after Antonio Pierce was fired following one season.
“As we got into it and we evaluated the options in free agency, the other players that maybe were available via trade, ultimately we arrived at a spot where we thought adding Geno made a lot of sense for us and upgraded a position.”
Leading the Raiders with 2,013 passing yards and nine touchdowns versus 10 interceptions in nine starts was Gardner Minshew. Aidan O’Connell (seven) and Desmond Ridder (one) also received starting nods during the team’s 4-13 record. As one may surmise, an improvement was desperately needed, and Spytek believes Smith can be exactly that.
*Top Photo: Getty Images
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