Geno Smith and Pete Carroll are set to reunite in Sin City.
The Las Vegas Raiders traded for the veteran quarterback on Friday, sending a 2025 third-round pick (92nd overall) to the Seattle Seahawks in return.
Smith’s move ends a six-year stint at Lumen Field, where he revived his career and became a two-time Pro Bowl selection, playing four seasons under Carroll.
During their time in Seattle together, Smith recorded 8,641 passing yards, 55 touchdowns and 21 interceptions in 37 games.
Now, in Las Vegas, they will hope to hit the ground running.
Carroll, who was appointed to replace the fired Antonio Pierce in January, has made it clear that he doesn’t want his first year as coach to be a rebuilding process.
He wants to turn the 4-13 Raiders into a winning team as soon as possible.
With minority owner Tom Brady behind them, Las Vegas had plans to evaluate every avenue to find a new quarterback for 2025.
The key was to find someone who will help the franchise be competitive from the get go, and they were unsuccessful in their attempts to lure Matthew Stafford from the Los Angeles Rams last week.
Now, the Raiders have turned to one of Carroll’s favorite Seahawks to get it going.
Smith struggled to make an impact in the early part of his career after being a second-round pick by the New York Jets in 2013.
He had stints with the New York Giants and Los Angeles Chargers, before landing in the Pacific Northwest in 2019, where he rejuvenated his NFL career.
In 2022, Smith finished the regular season with numerous career highs, completing 399 of 572 passes, with a league-leading 69.8 completion percentage.
He threw for an impressive 4,282 yards and 30 touchdowns, with a 100.9 passer rating in 17 games.
Smith was also the only quarterback to take every offensive snap for his team that season and was named Comeback Player of the Year.
He was guided by Carroll for much of his time in Seattle, and quickly became one of his coach’s ‘all-time favorite guys’.
“I love his story,” Carroll said of Smith back in December 2023.
“He’s taught us about belief in yourself and how powerful that is. He proved that his confidence in himself and belief and conviction was real, and he came through in a huge way.”
Smith, meanwhile, has previously described Carroll as ‘one of the best motivators’ he’s ever been around and noted he is a coach who ‘truly believes in hard work.’
He also once credited the head coach with helping him ‘change the way he spoke to himself.’
“He’s given me self confidence, kind of a new lease on life,” Smith admitted during his time in Seattle.
“I’ve always been a little hard on myself, always like, ‘You’re not good enough’.
“He helped me change the way I spoke to myself a little bit.”
It’s clear to see that Smith and Carroll have formed a special bond, and it’s one the Raiders hope can help turn around their fortunes.
At the very least, they will hope to get their money’s worth from Smith.
The quarterback is entering the final season of a three-year, $75million deal he signed with the Seahawks back in 2023.
According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, Smith is looking for a contract extension with Las Vegas that will net him in the region of $45m per year.
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