Geno Smith Traded To The Raiders: Key Takeaways And Fantasy Football Analysis

The Seattle Seahawks and Las Vegas Raiders swung a big trade involving Geno Smith prior to free agency. Smith is headed to Las Vegas for a third-round pick. He is expected to receive a contract extension from the Raiders as part of the deal.

There are many who are questioning why the Seahawks would pull such a move. They are coming off a 10-win season and narrowly missed out on winning the NFC West based on tie breakers. Smith has been a solid quarterback for Seattle the last three years and they have won 28 games over that time span.

Several implications and scenarios will arise from this trade, one of which is the Hawks' decision to ultimately sign Sam Darnold. Let's dive in and see how this will affect the 2025 season and beyond. Expect updates to come as both teams fill out their rosters.

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Seahawks Looking Towards The Future

The Seahawks have touted Geno Smith as their guy the whole offseason. It would appear that they sat down at the negotiating table and were far apart on a contract extension number for Smith. With Pete Carroll (who loves Smith) back in the NFL to coach the Raiders, the Seahawks started exploring trade options.

The Seahawks reportedly offered Geno Smith a two-year deal in the $40-45 million per year range. Smith rejected the offer without a counteroffer and requested a trade.

Source: Bob Condotta, Seattle Times pic.twitter.com/Y8sLE3gCze

— SleeperSeahawks (@SleeperSeahawks) March 9, 2025

The Seahawks seemed unwilling to pay high-end QB money for an average to solid quarterback headed into his age-35 season. It is difficult to blame them. They were able to shift their focus to signing Darnold. Darnold is seven years younger than Smith and will command approximately $10-12 million less per year on the deal he scored from Seattle.

It is also possible that Seattle has their sights set on someone in the draft. Signing Darnold to a team-friendly deal and drafting a potential project at quarterback could be the best of both worlds for the team. Even if they do not draft a quarterback, Darnold is young enough to lead them into the future.

Raiders Want To Win Now

The Raiders' head coach, Carroll, is 73 years old. He has not been shy about wanting to win as soon as possible. Raiders minority owner Tom Brady would also like the wins to start piling up. Smith is not a world-beater at quarterback, but he is a significant upgrade over Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew II.

While Smith has yet to receive a contract extension, it is reasonable to assume it will be in the neighborhood of $40-45 million per year. This team is going to commit to Smith in the medium-term and he will at least stabilize a position that has been notoriously unstable since the departure of Derek Carr in 2023.

Unfortunately, Smith does not have much to work with in this offense. Brock Bowers is a stud tight end, but the Raiders need serious help at every other skill position. The draft will tell us how to view the trade for Smith's outlook.

Fantasy Implications

Seahawks

The Seahawks will have a new-look offense in 2025 without Smith or wide receiver DK Metcalf, who was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Darnold is essentially a younger version of Smith and should deliver similar fantasy output. That is to say, Darnold projects to be a streaming quarterback in 2025.

As far as Darnold's receivers go, Jaxon Smith-Njigba is poised for a mega season regardless of who the Seahawks add to the wide receiver room. The Seahawks have demonstrated with action that they have full trust in JSN's ability to be a No. 1 wide receiver in the NFL. Expect the Darnold to Smith-Njigba connection to establish early and occur often.

With Darnold having recently rehabilitated his career, the Seahawks likely sold him on a plan. Expect several moves to be made to support Darnold and take pressure off Smith-Njigba.

Raiders

Bowers has been saved, for now. While Smith has been inconsistent at times over the last couple of seasons, He has demonstrated time and again an ability to support quality fantasy assets. With a talent like Bowers, that is unlikely to change.

Other Raiders offensive options will see a bump as well. Jakobi Meyers is a solid wide receiver who should have fantasy-relevant games this season. The Raiders' running game will also see an uptick in production with a quality quarterback. This may not be the most popular fantasy offense in 2025, but there will be pieces to be had from it.

Who Won The Trade?

In my opinion, you can never grade a trade until the ensuing season has played out. We need to see what the Seahawks do to surround Darnold with enough pieces to be successful. If he can repeat his Minnesota success, then swapping Darnold for Smith while adding a third-round pick will look like a slam dunk for Seattle.

The Raiders will likely be in slightly positive territory after this move. Smith and Carroll should stabilize a franchise that has been very bad for a long time. For the low price of a third-round pick, that feels worthwhile while the organization sorts out the long-term quarterback plan.

Overall, this trade looks like a win-win. The Seahawks were a tiebreaker away from winning the NFC West in 2024. This move may not put them over the hump but it likely does not set them back.

The Raiders can enjoy Smith in the twilight of his career while they rebuild their culture. However, eventually, one side will emerge as the clear victor, with the Seahawks boasting much more to lose than the Raiders.

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