Raiders' John Spytek Praises Geno Smith

Las Vegas Raiders General Manager John Spytek has loved having Geno Smith in the organization.

Jun 11, 2025; Henderson, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) throws the ball during Las Vegas Raiders Minicamp at Intermountain Health Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images / Candice Ward-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders acquired Geno Smith from the Seattle Seahawks this offseason and gave him a contract extension, locking him in as their franchise quarterback. 

General Manager John Spytek was on the job for only a little over a month before deciding to take the swing for Smith, reuniting him with his former head coach, Pete Carroll. 

Carroll now joins the Silver and Black with some familiarity, as he now gets to coach the quarterback he was with for two seasons. 

How did the trade go down, and what impression has Smith made on the organization? 

Spytek joined John Middlekauf on the latest episode of his podcast, ‘The 3 and Out Podcast,’ to explain the process.

“From the opening press conference, if I remember correctly, I think Pete and I talked about, ‘We’ll look everywhere for a quarterback,’” he said. “That wasn’t just coach speak or GM speak. We were serious about it. So, we explored every avenue, we called teams just to see. I’d be embarrassed to tell you some of the players we probably called and asked to trade for, but you just never know.”

Middlekauf jokingly asked Spytek if Kansas City Chiefs Coach Andy Reid declined to trade them Patrick Mahomes. 

“We didn’t go that far,” Spytek said. 

Spytek continued, citing Carroll’s history with Smith and Smith’s success under Carroll. 

“With Geno in particular, Pete has a history with him, and he’s played his best football for Pete,” he said. “He played well last year, too. And so, it was a third-round pick, but that’s not a nothing pick. Those are valuable picks in the GM’s mind and the scouting staff’s mind. 

To give him the contract we had to give him, too, we had a look behind the curtain, essentially, with Pete to feel really, really confident about it. To talk to everybody in the building like, ‘Hey, this is the right move for the Raiders at this time.’ 

He’s been everything that we want him to be so far. He’s been here for every offseason workout that we’ve had, he’s the leader we want, he’s always been an extremely gifted thrower; you see that every day. It’s a work in progress with Chip [Kelly] and the new offense, and learning the new players and new system, and having these rookies [taking] snaps with Geno, but he’s been awesome so far.”

Spytek said he is excited to see Smith bring the offense to life. Raider Nation is, too, as the team has needed it in recent seasons.

You can watch the full podcast episode with Spytek on the ‘3 and Out Podcast’ here.

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