Scott Gulbransen
The Adam Schefter report dropped and it confirmed what Raider Nation already knew was coming. The Raiders are releasing Geno Smith, barring a trade before the new league year begins. $8 million in cap space opens up. $18.5 million stays on the books. That’s the cost of a bad quarterback experiment, and frankly, it could have been worse.
Geno Smith Was Awful, But It Wasn’t Completely His Fault
Let’s be honest about what Geno Smith was in Las Vegas. He wasn’t the problem, per se. Yes, he didn’t play well but he was more of a symptom. The Raiders handed him a bad offensive line, a thin receiver room, and a coaching situation that changed more often than the Nevada weather. He got sacked 55 times last season. He threw 19 touchdowns against 17 interceptions. Those are the numbers of a guy who was asked to do too much with too little, and he came up short. That’s on the whole organization, not just the quarterback.
But this is the right move. It was always going to be the right move the moment Las Vegas locked up the first overall pick and Fernando Mendoza became the obvious answer. You can’t bring a veteran starter into that situation and expect a clean transition. Better to cut the cord now, eat the dead money, and build around what’s coming.
The $18.5 million in dead cap space hurts. That’s real money that can’t go toward the offensive line help Mendoza is going to desperately need or the receiver depth this roster is screaming for. But $8 million in savings is $8 million and every dollar matters when you’re trying to rebuild a roster from the ground up in one offseason.
The Geno Smith era in Las Vegas was forgettable. No shame in admitting that. Now it’s over, and what comes next is the most important quarterback decision this franchise has made since they let Rich Gannon walk out the door. Time to get it right.
