Seahawks trade Geno Smith to Raiders, reunite him with Pete Carroll

The Seattle Seahawks have traded starting quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports.

Blockbuster: The #Seahawks are trading two-time Pro Bowl QB Geno Smith to the #Raiders for a 2025 third-round pick, sources tell The Insiders.

It’s a reunion for Pete Carroll and Smith, who also is expected to get a new contract. And Seattle will need a new QB. pic.twitter.com/K5X0ZlvX66
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 7, 2025

For weeks now, it seemed like Smith would stay put in Seattle and play out the final year of his contract, which would have had him count for $44.5 million against the salary cap. Both head coach Mike Macdonald and general manager John Schneider both seemed confident that Smith would return, but this is yet another indication that the NFL can change on a dime.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport adds that Smith and the Seahawks had contract discussions, but "could not make progress." As a result, he heads to Sin City in stunning fashion.

In his three years as the Seahawks' starter, Smith provided solid, if unspectactular quarterback play. He finishes his time in Seattle completing 68.5 percent of his passes for 12,961 yards, 76 touchdowns and 36 interceptions. He earned Pro Bowl selections in 2022 and 2023 and won Comeback Player of the Year in 2022.

Sure, he definitely isn't among the league's best quarterbacks, but he provided stability after the departure of longtime star quarterback Russell Wilson, and that's something he can be proud of.

Now, though, Smith reunites with Raiders head coach Pete Carroll, the one who showed faith in him to replace Wilson when almost no one else did. The Raiders are definitely in rebuild mode as Carroll takes the helm, and he and Smith may be more short-term options than long-term ones. Still, it's nice to see the two reunite, and the familiarity should help both of them.

As for Seattle, it's clear the team is heading in a completely new direction this offseason. Smith and Tyler Lockett are now both gone, and DK Metcalf looks like he could be gone soon as well. It's a series of painful goodbyes one after the other, but it also provides a chance for Macdonald and Schneider to rebuild the offense from the ground up.

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