Raiders Pushed to Trade for Young Rocket-Arm QB as Geno Smith Successor
Though the Las Vegas Raiders have yet to sign quarterback Geno Smith to a contract extension, he’s likely to be the team’s starting quarterback for at least two to three seasons. However, he’s already 34 so age has to be a bit of a concern for the team. That’s why they’re likely to add a young quarterback with upside behind him this offseason. The Raiders could look to the draft to add a prospect but they could also look to a promising quarterback who is already in the NFL. New England Patriots backup quarterback Joe Milton is one of the most interesting players in the NFL. He’s an athletic marvel at 6-foot-5. He’s fast for his size and might have the biggest arm in the NFL already. The problem for him is that Drake Maye has the starting job in New England locked down. This has led to speculation
that the Patriots could trade Milton while he still holds some value. Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports believes the Raiders are one of the teams that needs to consider trading for him. “It would be WILD to see the Patriots call up their old pal Tom Brady and coordinate a trade that gives the Raiders a quarterback, but this makes sense for Las Vegas even after the trade for Geno Smith,” Sullivan wrote. “He is currently only signed through the 2025 season, but there is a logical school of thought that the team will extend him in some capacity. However, Smith is still 34 years old and will turn 35 in the middle of next season. Trading for Milton gives them an opportunity to land a young developmental quarterback to work behind Smith over the next few years before handing him the keys to the offense, if all goes according to plan.”
John Spytek continues to strengthen Raiders’ defensive front with latest signing
The Las Vegas Raiders have been very stingy with spending their money on free agents this offseason under first-year general manager John Spytek.
While the team did fork out a record-breaking contract for Maxx Crosby and re-sign Malcolm Koonce for $12 million, Spytek has been hesitant to spend big on a player from outside the building. New quarterback Geno Smith will certainly command a hefty contract after being acquired by the team, but that extension is still being discussed.
There are several positions that the Raiders still need to address this offseason, but Las Vegas has the cap space available to make a splash at wide receiver, running back or cornerback. Part of the reason why the team still has so much money to spend is because they’ve carefully constructed their roster with low-dollar, high-value players. Spytek struck again on Tuesday evening when he re-signed a member of last year’s defensive line for cheap.
Raiders add defensive line depth with latest signing
Almost no group in the NFL suffered as many injuries as the Raiders’ defense did a season ago. After losing Koonce before the season and players like Marcus Epps, Christian Wilkins and Jakorian Bennett relatively early as well, the team was forced to rely on unproven commodities like K’Lavon Chaisson, Isaiah Pola-Mao and Decamerion Richardson.
Another such player was defensive lineman Zach Carter, who joined the team in mid-October after Wilkins’ injury. On Tuesday, the team announced that they were re-signing Carter to a one-year, $1.25 million deal.
Carter played over 100 snaps for the Raiders last season across eight games, recording 13 tackles, 1.0 sacks, 1 pass defended and 1 quarterback hit. In his four games with the Bengals prior to arriving in Las Vegas, he totaled nine tackles, 0.5 sacks and a quarterback hit in just 151 snaps.
