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The Raiders may have drafted Geno Smith's replacement on Saturday.
In late January, the Las Vegas Raiders signaled that after a dismal 4-13 season and missing the playoffs for three straight years — and seven of the last eight — they were now determined to turn a corner and put the organization on a winning path. With the influence of new minority owner Tom Brady, who can wear Super Bowl rings on seven fingers, the Raiders hired future Hall of Fame head coach Pete Carroll.
But one important piece that the Raiders were still missing was one that would be close to Brady’s heart — a quarterback. A little more than a month after hiring their new coach, the Raiders remedied that situation by trading for a quarterback who is close to Carroll’s heart — Geno Smith.
The 34-year-old was Carroll’s quarterback for the coach’s final four years with the Seattle Seahawks, the team he took to two straight Super Bowls in the 2013 and 2014 seasons, winning the first but losing the second to Brady and the New England Patriots. Smith was a second-round draft pick of the New York Jets out of West Virginia in 2013, and started all 16 games for the team as a rookie.
Smith Not in Danger of Losing Starter’s Job — Yet
Smith got his opportunity when veteran Mark Sanchez went out with a shoulder injury and never returned. He also started 13 games the following season.
But in the 2015 preseason, for reasons that have never been made publicly clear (though reportedly a dispute over a $600 debt), linebacker IK Enemkpali punched Smith in the face in the Jets locker room, breaking the quarterback’s jaw.
As he recovered, Smith lost his job to Ryan Fitzpatrick and started only five games for four different teams over the next five years, until Carroll revived his career.
With a two year, $75 million Raiders contract, Smith will not likely lose his job in Las Vegas anytime soon, barring injury. But when the Raiders are ready to move on from Smith, they may have his replacement already on the roster thanks to a sixth round draft pick, No. 215 overall, made by the team on Saturday, according to a longtime Raiders insider reporter.
The Raiders used that selection to take North Dakota State QB Cam Miller, who they then signed to a $4.37 million, four-year rookie contract. In five years at North Dakota State, Miller led the Bisons to two national titles in the Football Championship Subdivision, college football’s second tier.
Miller May Have Reminded Tom Brady of Tom Brady
Miller also set Bisons records for total yardage (11,998), passing yards (9,721), completions (759) and completion percentage (.694). But is he really a threat to Smith. Not right away, but according to insider journalist Hondo Carpenter the Raiders starting job could be Miller’s at some point in the future.
“They were thrilled with Cam. The Raiders did not have a sixth-round grade on him at all. I can tell you that factually,” Carpenter said on Saturday’s Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast. “So to be able to get him in this in the sixth round was a steal. Am I sitting here saying he’s the Raiders quarterback of the future? No, I am not. Am I saying he could be? Yes.”
Carpenter said that the Raiders’ choice came down to Miller, or another national champion, Ohio State QB Will Howard who was later picked by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But the RaidersBeat blog suggested that in Miller, the Raiders may have found a quarterback at least somewhat similar to another sixth round pick who went on to a rather successful career — Brady himself.
“Every indication in recent months is that Tom Brady was going to be heavily involved in the Raiders’ decision on drafting a quarterback, so it’s probably a safe assumption that Brady saw qualities in Miller that remind him a little of himself — if not fro
