It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
When the Las Vegas Raiders entered this most recent offseason, it was supposed to be their first true season as the football team of Sin City. They had navigated their awkward period of moving away from Oakland to Vegas, backed by the brainpower of the greatest football player of all time, Tom Brady, and signed a living legend coach in the form of Pete Carroll.
After two decades of stumbles, mediocrity, and being a side character in the world of the NFL, the Raiders, once feared by all, would return to prominence. The blueprint was in place, and the plan was about to be put into action.
When they traded for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith in March and then signed him to a big-money deal, it was a statement to the rest of the league. They had their guy for the next few years, drafted an electric factory in the form of Ashton Jeanty as the No. 6 pick, and were ready to challenge for the West in the AFC.
Well, five weeks into the season, at an embarrassing 1-4 and a month-straight of losses, that blueprint has been lit on fire. The gamble of going all-in on Smith has turned into a nightmare, as he sits as the league’s worst starting quarterback, nearly a third of the way through the season.
In five games, Smith has thrown for 1,176 yards, six touchdowns, and a league-leading, mind-numbing, Raiders-fan-terrorizing nine interceptions. Any chance the Raiders have had to find momentum in this season, Smith has promptly derailed with an inopportune decision to put his team behind the eight ball.
Smith, who was a league darling only a season or two ago, embodied perseverance. Everyone had written him off, but he didn’t write back; instead, he took charge of the Seahawks organization and put up Madden numbers in 2023. Although his subpar decision-making in the red zone was a key reason why the Seahawks stepped away and ultimately traded Smith this offseason, the arm talent and big-play ability were on showcase even at the tail end of his Seattle tenure.
Now, though, those highlight plays are disregarded with a mere hand wave when every few dynamic throws equate to nothing due to a terrible interception or a ball thrown closer to the heavens than his closest receiver.
Smith might still not be writing to his critics who wrote him off, but if you’re the Raiders brass, your pen might be at the ready.
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