According to Adam Schefter, the Jets are trading for Raiders QB Geno Smith to fix their need at quarterback.
New York isn’t giving up much, sending a sixth-round pick to Las Vegas and getting back Smith and a seventh, but this ensures that he lands with the Jets instead of becoming free to sign anywhere.
Mike Garafolo says the teams will swap picks No. 208 and 228.
Reports had indicated the Raiders were planning to cut Smith before another $8 million of his salary became guaranteed. Jonathan Jones reports Las Vegas is eating some of Smith’s salary and Tom Pelissero says the Jets will be responsible for a little more than the league minimum.
It had become clear today that the Jets were zeroing in on Smith as their starter for the 2026 season. Had the Raiders released Smith, he likely would have been available for the veteran minimum salary. But he also could have signed elsewhere.
The Vikings, Cardinals and Browns loom still among other teams with needs at quarterback.
Smith, 35, is a former second-round pick of the Jets back in 2013 out of West Virginia. He played out the final year of his four-year, $5.019 million contract before signing a one-year contract worth $2 million with the Giants in 2017.
Smith signed a one-year deal with the Chargers for the 2018 season before joining the Seahawks in 2019. He returned on one-year deals each of the following three seasons before being named the starter in 2022.
He signed a three-year extension with the Seahawks worth $105 million in March of 2023. He just finished the second year of his deal and made a base salary of $12.7 million fully guaranteed.
Smith was in the final year of his deal and set to make a $14.8 million base salary in 2025 when the Seahawks traded him to the Raiders for a third-round pick. He then signed a new two-year, $75 million extension.
In 2025, Smith appeared in 15 games for the Raiders and completed 67.4 percent of his passes for 3,025 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions.
We’ll have more on Smith and the Jets’ plans at quarterback as the news is available.
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