Four weeks ago, it wasn’t clear what the Raiders would do at quarterback. Three weeks ago, the clouds parted. The new quarterback in Las Vegas is Geno Smith.
New Raiders G.M. John Spytek addressed the decision to trade for Smith during a recent episode of the team’s Upon Further Review podcast.
“The compensation from a draft-capital standpoint wasn’t so costly,” Spytek said. “I love my picks more than anybody, and I’ve got to remind Coach Carroll how much I love picks. But, listen, we used a late third-round pick to hopefully have our starting quarterback here for years to come. And it was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.”
Smith, of course, is under contract for only one year. He’s due to make $31 million. There has been no extension, yet. And it’s fair to wonder when one is coming, given that Smith’s financial expectations prompted the Seahawks to trade him.
It remains to be seen how things play out. Will Smith show up for offseason workouts without a new deal? Or will he decide that he needs to prepare to have the best contract year possible, if a new deal isn’t coming sooner than later?
Regardless, the Raiders say they’re sold on Smith.
“When you’ve watched Geno through the years, he can throw the football with the best of any of them, honestly,” Spytek said. “I mean, you watch some of the throws he makes over and over again downfield, you know, short, intermediate. The touch is there, the arm strength is there.
“And when you have Coach Carroll in your camp and he can swear by the player, the competitor, the worker, the leader. That’s a front-row seat, or that’s information that if I was still with the Bucs, for instance, we wouldn’t have.”
So they believe in Smith. And they say they want him to be there. When it comes to quarterback contracts, however, money always speaks louder than words.
Using or not using a top-10 draft pick on a quarterback next month also does, too.
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