The Las Vegas Raiders had arguably the worst quarterback situation in the league during the 2024 NFL season. The team trotted out a duo of Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell, and draft bust Desmond Ridder was the team's contingency plan.
New general manager John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll, however, would not let this be the case in 2025. Upon accepting their positions with the Silver and Black, they almost immediately traded for veteran signal-caller Geno Smith.
Smith has been to the Pro Bowl twice in the last three seasons and even won the 2022 NFL Comeback Player of the Year award. His longstanding relationship with Carroll was a key factor in the Raiders acquiring the 34-year-old quarterback.
On Monday's episode of "The GM Shuffle" podcast, however, former Kansas City Chiefs starting right tackle Mitchell Schwartz had harsh words for Smith ahead of the 2025 season.
“They trust Geno Smith, and trust is important," Schwartz said. "Now I think Geno is not as good as people want him to be. I mean, they love the redemption story about Geno, but he just, he was good for about eight weeks."
Schwartz was a four-time All-Pro with the Chiefs and a pivotal part of the team's Super Bowl win during the 2019 season. While he may have an inkling about what success looks like, his continued criticism of Smith felt unnecessary.
"His first couple of weeks, his first couple of months in Seattle, [he] has not been the same player since," Schwartz said. "But there were no other options [for the Raiders]. It was either go with no quarterback in year one, essentially, right?”
Smith recorded a career-best 4,320 passing yards in 2024, and he threw for 21 touchdowns through the air. He also led the league in completion percentage during the 2022 campaign in his first year as the starter under Carroll.
Now that he is reunited with his former coach, many expect both Smith and the Raiders to take a major step during the 2025 season.
