The Seattle Seahawks are trading quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders, reports NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
The Raiders will send a third-round pick back to the Seahawks, according to Rapoport.
The Seahawks are targeting pending free agent Sam Darnold to replace Smith, per The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.
The trade reunites Smith with Pete Carroll, who coached Smith in Seattle from 2020 to 2023.
Smith is coming off an up-and-down 2024 season in which he passed for a career-best 4,320 yards, a franchise record, to go with 21 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
While starting all 17 games, Smith also posted a completion rate of 70.4% (fifth), carrying an offense with an overmatched line and no consistent run game. He also led four game-winning drives, giving him nine over the past two seasons to tie Patrick Mahomes for the most in the NFL in that span.
The Seahawks re-signed Smith to a three-year, $75 million contract in March 2023. That deal gave him the opportunity to make an additional $30 million via contract escalators. Smith hit $6 million of those escalators with his performance last season. That $6 million was added onto the $10 million roster bonus Smith was set to earn on March 16.
Smith unsuccessfully argued for a new deal last offseason after seeing several other quarterbacks cash in with big-money extensions, and he was upset that the Seahawks would not give him one, according to multiple sources. It was a non-starter for the organization given its policy of not renegotiating contracts with more than one season left.
The $25 million average of Smith’s last deal ranked 19th among quarterbacks (it was 20th before the New York Giants released Daniel Jones) and last among full-time starters not on their rookie contract.
