It was no secret that as of Friday morning, the Las Vegas Raiders were willing to trade for and pay Los Angeles Rams starting quarterback Matthew Stafford if he and the Rams could not agree on a restructured contract.
However, ESPN’s Brady Henderson suggested in a piece published hours before the Rams confirmed they were holding onto Stafford that new Raiders head coach Pete Carroll could view Geno Smith of the Seattle Seahawks as a “plan B” option.
While Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald and offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak have insisted they want Smith as their starter for at least the 2025 season, Henderson noted that general manager John Schneider seems willing to either let the 34-year-old play out the final year of the three-year contract that was signed in March 2023 or take calls regarding Smith’s availability. March 16 is quickly approaching, and there was no sign as of the final day of February that Smith was close to receiving a contract extension to his liking from Seattle.
As for the Raiders, Carroll was Smith’s head coach from 2019-2023. Under Carroll, Smith earned NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award honors for the 2022 season.
Additionally, members of the Raiders’ offensive coaching staff reportedly “prefer adding a proven veteran quarterback to taking a dice roll on a rookie” this spring but also don’t want to “make a large financial commitment to” a veteran other than Stafford “who’s expected to be available this offseason.” That indicates the Raiders likely won’t actively pursue Sam Darnold of the Minnesota Vikings, assuming he becomes eligible to speak with other teams when the free-agent negotiating window opens on March 10.