Smith has been traded by the Seattle Seahawks to the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders are sending the Seahawks a third-round pick as part of the deal.
According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, the Seahawks and Smith had contract talks but were unable to come to an agreement on an extension, which led to the trade.
Smith had signed a 3-year, $75 million contract with Seattle in March 2023. He has a $38.5 million cap hit for 2025, meaning he will take a sizable chunk of the Raiders’ salary cap. Interestingly, the Raiders acquired Smith despite not having a contract extension in place for him.
The Raiders’ trade for Smith reunites the quarterback with Pete Carroll, who was Seattle’s coach when Smith played for them from 2020-2023. Smith started the last three seasons for the Seahawks and went 28-24 as their starter overall.
The Raiders are making it clear that they want to turn things around in 2025. They also have the No. 6 overall pick in the upcoming draft. Now that they have Smith, they could look to draft a quarterback and let that player sit and learn for a season to develop behind Smith. It’s quite possible that they are building a succession plan.
As for Seattle, they now need a new quarterback, in addition to some new receivers, and Sam Darnold could be their play.
