Geno Smith trade grades for Seahawks and Raiders after shocking deal for QB

The changes keep coming for the Seattle Seahawks.

Earlier this week the team parted ways with veteran wide receiver Tyler Lockett, and granted permission to fellow wideout DK Metcalf to seek a trade. That led to questions over just who Geno Smith might be throwing the ball to next year, beyond Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Well, in an incredible “Friday night news dump” the Seahawks just answered that question.

How about Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers?

According to multiple reports, the Seahawks are trading Smith to the Raiders for a third-round selection. That gives the Raiders the quarterback they needed to add this offseason while opening up a host of additional questions for Seattle.

Let’s hand out some grades.

This is a tremendous move for the Raiders.

Las Vegas needed to make a move at quarterback, after rolling with Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell last season. Sitting sixth in the 2025 NFL Draft there was a chance the Raiders looked to address the position with a pick in that spot — and minority owner Tom Brady has praised Shedeur Sanders during the draft process — but adding Smith in exchange for a third-round pick takes care of that need.

Smith has one year left on his current contract, but the Raiders have the second most cap space available in the NFL, so there is room to work out a new deal with their new QB.

The move also gives the Raiders more options with that pick in the first round. Instead of forcing a pick with a quarterback, or even packaging that pick to get ahead of other QB-needy teams in the draft, the Raiders could go in a few different directions. Other needs for the team include wide receiver or even running back, making players like Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan or running back Ashton Jeanty out of Boise State options for them in that spot.

And if the Raiders saw a QB later in the draft that they liked as a developmental project behind Smith, this gives them the option to go down that road.

Plus, the move reunites Smith with Pete Carroll, who was the head coach in Seattle during the veteran QB’s resurgence in the Pacific Northwest.

This is a great move for Las Vegas.

On the flip side, this move by the Seahawks has left us with more questions than answers.

Ultimately this might be the kind of move that looks better once the entire plan is in place. But at the moment this looks like a complete teardown is underway in Seattle. With Lockett, Smith, and likely Metcalf all on their way out of town this looks like a complete roster refresh for the Seahawks.

But then came reports that the Seahawks were looking at bringing in Sam Darnold, fresh off a resurgence of his own this past year with Seattle.

Is there a bigger vision here?

Taken in a vacuum, this move is a head-scratcher. Maybe with time it ages well but at the moment, we’re wondering what the big picture is in Seattle.