A shoulder injury held Raiders quarterback Geno Smith out in Week 15, but he’s making a quick return. Head coach Pete Carroll announced that Smith will start against the Texans on Sunday (via Levi Edwards of Raiders.com). Smith is expected to remain the Raiders’ starter for the rest of the season.
Looking to snap a seven-game losing streak, the Raiders turned to veteran signal-caller Kenny Pickett in Philadelphia last Sunday. It couldn’t have gone much worse. Pickett completed 15 of 25 passes for a minuscule 64 yards in a 31-0 defeat. The Eagles intercepted the former first-round pick once and sacked him four times. The Raiders fell to 2-12 in their second shutout loss of 2025.
Pickett was dreadful last week, but it hasn’t exactly been a banner season for Smith. The Raiders hoped reuniting Smith with Carroll, who previously managed decent results together in Seattle, would lead them back to respectability. In hindsight, the franchise’s hierarchy of owner Mark Davis, part-owner Tom Brady, and general manager John Spytek might undo both the hiring of Carroll and the Smith pickup.
Just 14 games into his Raiders tenure, Carroll is already in danger of losing his job. Smith’s performance hasn’t helped Carroll’s cause.
The Raiders gave up a third-round pick for Smith and then handed him a two-year, $75MM extension, but he hasn’t justified either investment. The 35-year-old has logged 16 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, and an 84.5 passer rating – his lowest full-season mark since 2014. He ranks 32nd among 33 qualifying passers in QBR, beating out only Titans rookie Cam Ward.
The Raiders are dead last in the league in points per game (14.0), and improving on that number in Houston will be a tall task for their Smith-led offense. The 9-5 Texans, who are riding a six-game winning streak, rank first in the league in total defense and PPG allowed (16.1).
If Sunday’s matchup goes as expected, the Raiders will remain in contention for the No. 1 overall pick. With two games left after that, management will soon decide whether to keep Smith around for another year. While Smith’s $18.5MM salary for 2026 is already guaranteed, that’s the only dead money they’d eat in releasing him. Another $8MM in guarantees is set to vest in early March, but the Raiders could move on before then. With Smith, Pickett, Aidan O’Connell, and Cam Miller comprising the Raiders’ current group of quarterbacks, odds are their 2026 starter isn’t in the organization yet.
Draft O-Line with your first 2-3 picks! Add one or two stud O-line in free agency. Forget about drafting a QB until you can actually run game block consistently and pass block decently. Not even Tom Brady himself would have a chance with their current line.
Bring in Anthony Richardson as a RB/QB (for a 4th round pick). Trade down and wait to take the top O-lineman and pick up and extra 2nd rounder in the process. Stack a few defensive players on the back end of the draft. Pick up a Keaton Mitchell and run a two back set with AR as a run option on almost every play as well and then play dump the ball to Bowers / RB’s out of the back field, move the chains and keep your defense off the field for long stretches.
A lot of what you’re saying makes sense, except trading for Richardson. Hard pass on that. Las Vegas could just as easily draft Taylen Green with the 4th rounder that you’re trading away in this scenario, and have a similar QB to Richardson for a fraction of the cap hit.
Fail for Fernando lol
The Raiders problems go much deeper then their QB’S…
Can’t expect ANY QB to do well behind that OL and with few playmakers on offense….Geno Smith was a solid QB till he got traded to Vegas…..I feel sorry for any rookie QB the Raiders draft next year ….. Mendoza you watching ……
Geno Smith was not a good QB in Seattle. Turnover machine who benefitted from having a great receiving corps. This season was totally predictable.
please trade max crosby ! ! !
Probably be better to keep Crosby and trade for Stills, Nash & Young 🙂
Fantastic!
Good one Sir!
Get your franchise QB now when you have the high draft pick. Get OL help in FA to go will Miller and JPJ and then add supplemental OL pieces in the draft to shore up the line. The formula has worked many times over in history. Hopefully Moore and Mendoza both come out and the team will have their choice of QB.
Teams rarely let anyone who appears to be a good OL anywhere near the free agent market. The guys you find there are either the age of Jason Peters or guys that often resemble a turnstile when pass blocking. Occasionally these guys can serve as one year rentals for depth purposes but for teams undertaking a rebuild, drafting is the better alternative.
Agree with you but some teams will one let slip through, most likely case is Linderbaum this FA class. Teams also do trades as well, look at the Chiefs who probably regret trading Thuney to the Bears. Thuney is a pro bowler this year and the Bears only gave up a 6th rd pick. We need a franchise QB either way, then focus on the line for both sides of the ball.
Listen at all of these professional coaches with their master plans. Just get rid of Geno Smith and build an offensive line. Get some damn linebackers that wanna tackle get some DB’s that want to cover and tackle. Get some friends for Crosby if he’s gonna still be here. Damn it’s that simple. We have a certified backup quarterback starting, not even a backup maybe a third quarterback.