The Las Vegas Raiders and the Seattle Seahawks became connected early in the 2025 offseason.
They made critical decisions at quarterback that was bound to shape the seasons of both teams. The affect ended up being dramatic.
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We knew the backstory, of course. Days before the league season began, the Raiders acquired Seattle starting quarterback Geno Smith for a third-round pick. The Seahawks, then signed Sam Darnold in free agency.
There were a lot of opinions on the moves and many people thought the Raiders came out on top of the switch.
They were wrong.
The Raiders, of course, went 3-14 and Pete Carroll, the driving force behind the Smith trade, was fired after one season. Smith, who played for Carroll in Seattle, is not likely to return to Las Vegas even though he signed a three-year deal with the Raiders after the trade.
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The quarterback move worked much better for the Seahawks. They are headed to the Super Bowl in their first season with Darnold at quarterback and the second under coach Mike McDonald, who replaced Carroll there.
The Raiders went from being 4-13 in 2024 and to 3-14 in 2025. The Seahawks improved from going 10-7 to 14-3 and now are favored to beat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Further connecting the two teams was that The Athletic reported that Raiders’ part owner Tom Brady was not excited about pursuing Darnold in free agency and he was on board with the Smith move.
It clearly didn’t work.
So, this is a good opportunity for the Raiders to learn from their mistakes and use the Seahawks as an example of how making the right decision can spur a huge positive impact in just one season.