Some members of the NFL community previously suggested that Las Vegas Raiders minority owner Tom Brady didn’t want to commit real money to quarterback Geno Smith beyond the 2025 campaign after the club acquired Smith from the Seattle Seahawks earlier this offseason.
However, such takes looked at least a little silly after it was reported ahead of this past weekend that Smith would be signing a two-year contract extension.
During a recent chat with league insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, Smith shared a message he received from Brady regarding the 34-year-old’s deal with the Raiders.
“What I was talking to Tom about, this is something he said, and this is true,” Smith recalled. “‘We don’t want to celebrate contracts. We want to celebrate wins.’ And the thing is, that just kind of set the tone for the team. ‘This is our quarterback. This is the direction we’re headed.’ And there’s no gray area there. Everything’s set in stone. And when you have that, when you can set a real plan, then you can get things going.”
Breer previously noted that those running the Seahawks “felt like they were doing Smith a favor with the trade” because “Vegas had a better shot at doing a contract with him than Seattle did.” Smith told Breer he’s “very grateful, very thankful” and “very appreciative” to have put pen to paper on the extension, but reporters were quick to point out that Las Vegas could still spend the sixth overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft on a quarterback such as Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and then move on from Smith as soon as next offseason.
Sanders already has a relationship with Brady, and multiple reporters said as recently as Monday morning that both the Cleveland Browns (pick No. 2) and New York Giants (No. 3) will pass on the polarizing prospect.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reported on April 4 that Smith “wanted to reunite with” new Raiders head coach Pete Carroll, Smith’s coach from 2019-23 when they were with Seattle. It also sounds like Smith has found somewhat of a mentor in Brady.
“I’ve always really been hard on myself about being able to play the game without using all the physical attributes,” Smith said while discussing conversations he had with Brady before the signing of the extension. “And from watching my tape, that’s something that [Brady] noticed, how I handle protections and can get in and out of plays. We ran a very intricate system [last year]. It was our first year in the system, but we didn’t hold back on anything. And I think that’s something that he recognized, he noticed. …Stuff from the neck up, decision making, leadership, just all those things are the things that Tom talked to me about reasons why they wanted me.”
It’s now no secret that Brady is already more involved with the Raiders’ football operations than some thought he’d be last year. Brady’s words indicate he’s high on Smith, but one wonders if the future Hall of Famer will nevertheless push for the Raiders to take a quarterback during the draft’s first round on April 24.
