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Geno Smith contract extension derails Bears' shot at Ashton Jeanty in NFL Draft

The Chicago Bears are eyeing Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but the odds he'll fall to No. 10 overall just got worse.
Bryan Perez|
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Chicago Bears

The odds that the Chicago Bears will land Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty feel a lot worse one day after the Las Vegas Raiders inked quarterback Geno Smith to a sizable two-year, $75 million extension.

It's a deal that suggests the Raiders won't dip into the 2025 NFL Draft quarterback market. Instead, Las Vegas appears headed down the first-round-running-back path.

It would sting for Bears fans hoping Jeanty joins forces with Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson to form the most exciting offense Chicago's fielded since the peak Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, and Matt Forte days.

Adam Schefter says Geno Smith contract squashes first-round QB narrative for Raiders

"I think this almost clinches the fact that the Las Vegas Raiders will bypass a quarterback in the first round," ESPN's Adam Schefter said. "Maybe they revisit it in an early round later on, but it's hard to imagine that they go and give Geno Smith $75 million and then turn around three weeks later and draft a quarterback in the first round.

"I don't think they're taking a page from the Falcons playbooks," Schefter concluded.

That Falcons playbook is the one that had Atlanta sign Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal in 2024 free agency, only to draft Michael Penix Jr. in the first round -- No. 8 overall -- in the 2024 NFL Draft.

While Smith's contract isn't nearly as prohibitive as Cousins' was, it's still a multi-year, starter-level payday that suggests the Raiders aren't thrilled with the quarterback options who will be on the board in this year's first round.

Miami star Cam Ward is expected to be the first pick to the Tennessee Titans, leaving Colorado's Shedeur Sanders and Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart as the next two quarterbacks considered first-round options. Neither Sanders nor Dart grades as a top-10 pick.

Meanwhile, Ashton Jeanty has long been viewed as a generational talent with traits similar to Saquan Barkley and Bijan Robinson. He will be the best all-around player on the board at No. 6 overall, and with Geno Smith now in place for the next couple of years, there's no reason to think the Raiders won't snag Jeanty.

If that happens, the Chicago Bears will be left to address running back with one of their two picks in the second round, which should still produce a high-level prospect who's capable of starting right away. Players like TreVeyon Henderson (Ohio State), Quinshon Judkins (Ohio State), and Kaleb Johnson (Iowa) should all be on the board when the Bears pick at No. 39.

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Bryan Perez
BRYAN PEREZ

Bryan Perez founded and operated Bears Talk, a Chicago sports blog. Prior to that, he covered the Bears for USA Today’s Bears Wire and NBC Sports Chicago. In addition to his Chicago Bears coverage, Perez is a respected member of NFL Draft media and was a past winner of The Huddle's Mock Draft competition. Bryan's past life includes time as a Northeast scout for the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks.

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