The Las Vegas Raiders became the first team to fill their quarterback vacancy this offseason, acquiring Geno Smith from the Seattle Seahawks for a third-round pick. Weeks after landing their starting quarterback, it appears Las Vegas is ready to make a long-term commitment to him.
Smith, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, wanted a long-term deal with Seattle. Amid contract negotiations, NFL rumors surfaced that the Seahawks were interested in signing Sam Darnold. Days later, Smith was traded to Las Vegas and Darnold wound up in Seattle.
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- Geno Smith stats (ESPN): 4,320 passing yards, 21-15 TD-INT, 70.4% completion rate, 93.2 QB rating
Las Vegas was expected to eventually sign Smith to an extension, but a deal still hasn’t happened. Now that a few more quarterbacks have come off the board, it appears Smith is finally going to get his deal.
According to Tashan Reed of The Athletic, the Raiders are expected to sign Smith to a contract extension this week. With the trade now official, Las Vegas has made significant progress on a multi-year deal, giving Smith the kind of contract the Seahawks wouldn’t and an announcement could be imminent.
There’s an additional incentive for the Raiders’ front office to work out an extension with Smith beyond long-term stability at quarterback. As noted by Reed, Smith’s $16 million roster bonus that was owed on Sunday can be incorporated into an extension as a signing bonus. Doing so would allow Las Vegas to lower his cap hit ($31 million) this year.
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- Geno Smith contract (Spotrac): $38.5 million cap hit in 2025
In terms of what a multi-year deal might cost, Smith could push for upwards of $40 million per season. It would put him ahead of Derek Carr ($37.5 million AAV) and right in line with Matthew Stafford as the 15th-highest-paid quarterback in the NFL.
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Given Smith’s age, Las Vegas likely isn’t looking at anything longer than a three-year extension and it might only be a two-year deal that would keep him under contract through 2027. The Raiders will also likely structure it so that they could move on from him after the 2026 season without taking a huge dead-cap hit.
