Shedeur Sanders stirs Raiders draft speculation by posting photo with Geno Smith

Acquiring Geno Smith has stabilized and upgraded the quarterback position for the Las Vegas Raiders at long last. He's going to get a contract extension to keep him in place for a bit, but Smith is 34 years old and drafting a quarterback with an eye on the future is absolutely in play.

There has been a lot of rumors and mock draft ties between the Raiders and Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. It seems unlikely he'd be an option at No. 6 overall, with other roster needs that seem sure to take more priority with that premium pick. And that assumes Sanders is even available at No. 6.

Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports passed along intel from the NFL Combine that the Sanders camp, of course including Sanders' father Deion Sanders, wants him to land with the Raiders. The Raiders will surely not be swayed by that outside influence, with focus on evaluating the younger Sanders as a prospect and how he may or may not fit their situation.

But we live in a world where social media posts garner attention, and we know anything about some members of the Sanders family it's they know to attract as much of it as possible.

Shedeur Sanders-Raiders draft speculation ramps back up with Geno Smith photo

It wasn't the only time Smith was the subject of something that got a lot of legs on social media over the weekend, but Sanders posted a photo with the Raiders' newly-acquired signal caller on his Instagram story with the caption "Legendary" while tagging Smith (h/t to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal).

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It's unclear what the relationship between Smith and Sanders is, and when the photo was taken is not necessarily firmly established. Sanders does have a long-standing relationship with Raiders minority owner Tom Brady, from working out together to Sanders signing an NIL deal with Brady's "TB12" apparel brand in 2022.

In any case the Raiders could very well take Sanders with the sixth overall pick, or if they're compelled to trade down they may be able to do so and still get him if they want him. If Sanders is going to post a lot of things like this, essentially saying "hey" to the Raiders, the draft can't get here fast enough.