After making the big offseason trade to acquire Geno Smith, the Las Vegas Raiders were hoping that they had finally fixed their glaring issue at the quarterback position. Unfortunately, through the first five games of the 2025 NFL season, that hasn’t been the case.
Smith has gotten off to an incredibly slow start to his first season with the Raiders. In fact, there have been many calls for the team to consider benching him in favor of backup signal caller Kenny Pickett.
In Week 6, Las Vegas will face off at home against the Tennessee Titans. This matchup will give the Raiders a good chance to get back on track with a big win. However, Smith will need to step up and play at a higher level than he has shown thus far.
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With that in mind, an update has been shared about Smith’s job status with the team ahead of this week’s game.
According to NFL insider Tom Pelissero, Smith is safe as the starter in Las Vegas. Despite the outside noise, the team is still very much committed to him as its starter.
“My understanding is there has been no serious discussion about benching Geno in favor of backup Kenny Pickett,” Pelissero said. “Pete Carroll defended Geno this week, said we’ve gotta run the ball better, we’ve gotta support him better … The plan moving forward is for Geno to be the starter.”
Throughout his first five games with the Raiders, Smith has completed 65 percent of his pass attempts for 1,176 yards, six touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He has also picked up 74 yards on the ground.
Obviously, the turnover numbers are a major concern. Throwing nine interceptions in just five games is not a recipe for winning. However, Smith is more than capable of upping his level of play.
Pete Carroll, who coached Smith with the Seattle Seahawks, is a big believer in the 35-year-old quarterback. The franchise also invested into Smith with a two-year, $75 million contract extension before the start of the season.
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Fans are rightful to be frustrated about the way he has played so far. However, the fact of the matter is that Las Vegas is not going to pull the rug out from under him too quickly. The franchise needs him to figure things out.
While Smith’s job on the Raiders seems to be safe for the time being, a move could take place if he continues struggling over the next couple of weeks.
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