Why Geno Smith is an obvious trade target for Pete Carroll, Tom Brady and the Raiders

Everything the Seattle Seahawks front office has said this offseason indicates they want to keep Geno Smith as their starting quarterback, both in 2025 and going forward. Then again, if the Russell Wilson trade taught us anything it's that you can't always take what a team says about trade scenarios at face value. There's also the distinct possibility that the two sides won't be able to work out a new contract, and Smith will find himself on the trade block in the coming days.

If the Seahawks are going to trade DK Metcalf anyway, there is an argument to hit the reset button on offense and clear it of all the big contracts currently on the books. With Tyler Lockett already out of the way, they'd just have to cut tight end Noah Fant and find buyers for DK and Geno.

The most logical trade partner for both might be a familiar face. We know that the Raiders are among the many teams to have contacted Seattle about DK, and the latest reporting suggests that Smith is also a great fit for their plans.

According to Dianna Russini at The Athletic, Tom Brady, Pete Carroll and the Raiders are exploring veteran QB options, including potential trade targets.

The Las Vegas Raiders are exploring veteran quarterback options on the free agent and trade market, per sources.

That includes the possibility of trading for a current starting QB.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) March 7, 2025

This makes Geno an obvious target for Vegas, and according to one insider at least one NFL team has already contacted the Seahawks about trading for Geno.

There are 30 other options, but it would be a surprise if it was anybody but the Raiders, who might have already had the worst quarterback room in the league but will definitely qualify for that dubious distinction now that they're going to release Gardner Minshew.

The Raiders will likely want both a veteran and a young quarterback to come in and reset their depth chart at this spot. Shedeur Sanders of Colorado is the obvious choice, but there's no guarantee he'll still be on the board when Vegas is on the clock with the sixth overall pick in the draft. That means they have extra incentive to lock up a veteran QB before the draft and unless they can somehow land Sam Darnold, their best potential upgrade this offseason is going to be Geno Smith.

In Vegas Geno would have a superb young tight end in Brock Bowers but precious little else to work with as far as skill players go. That behooves the Raiders to take some big swings at wide receiver, as well.

A potential megadeal sending Metcalf and Smith to the Raiders would likely involve a heavy load of draft capital and cap relief for the Seahawks. That would give them the resources they need to rebuild their offense from the ground up while leaning on what should be an elite defensive unit in 2025.

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