Why Seattle Traded Geno Smith to the Raiders

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Geno Smith is on the move to reunite with former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll in Las Vegas after the Seattle Seahawks dealt him to the Raiders in exchange for a 2025 3rd round draft pick. Here’s why Seattle GM John Schneider made the move: 

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Price

Smith and his camp were reportedly looking for a deal in the $45 million/per year range, while Seattle was hoping to retain Geno for no more than $35 million per year. After his infamous “I didn’t write back” season, Geno Smith signed a 3 year, $75,000,000 contract with Seattle, including $40,000,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $25,000,000. In 2025, Smith will earn a base salary of $14,800,000, a roster bonus of $16,000,000 and a workout bonus of $200,000, while carrying a cap hit of $31,000,000- which will now go against the Raiders salary cap. 

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Age

While Smith hasn’t necessarily showed any signs of slowing down; rather, he appears to just be getting started- the Seahawks looked at the situation two ways. A- they could give the 34-year-old $45 million a year, or trade him for a 3rd round pick and target Sam Darnold in free agency where the market appears to have Darnold set to make around $35-38 million. So, a 34-year-old aging QB for $45 million, or a 27-year-old QB with potential for $10 million less and a third round pick. When you put it that way, it actually seems like a reasonable idea. Of course, this hinges on Schneider’s ability to actually convince Darnold to sign in Seattle for that price. 

Scheme fit

Smith has had success in Seattle under multiple coaching regimes and offensive playbooks. Last year, former Washington Huskies offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb earned the job as Seahawks OC, and while expectations were high for a pass-heavy offence, Grubb’s system didn’t mesh with HC Mike Macdonald’s overall philosophy and we ended up seeing that in the on-field product much throughout the season. Seattle hired former Saints OC Klint Kubiak after Grubb’s departure in 2025, which is designed to be a run-first offence, and Smith decided his talents would be put to better use elsewhere and requested a trade.

So, while Seattle has had a crazy handful of days as they near offseason free agency, trading Geno Smith to the Raiders may present a new opportunity for the Seahawks’ direction under 2nd year HC Mike Macdonald as he rebuilds his team the way he envisions.