Did Geno really leave Seahawks for a better situation in Vegas?

Geno Smith is feeling good about leaving the Seattle Seahawks to reunite with head coach Pete Carroll as the new Las Vegas Raiders quarterback.

Is it really a better situation he’s found himself in, though?

Geno grateful to reunite with Carroll, says he has ‘unfinished business’

Seattle Sports’ Michael Bumpus, a Seahawks Radio Network broadcaster and former NFL wide receiver, doesn’t think so.

“I’m reading between the lines and (it seems like Smith) just feels like it’s such a better situation over there,” the Bump and Stacy co-host said Monday. “Pete Carroll is over there, (the Raiders have new offensive coordinator) Chip Kelly, Tom Brady is associated. And maybe on a personal level, it is better. But now let’s talk about some football.”

That’s where Smith could be in for a bigger challenge than he ever experienced in three seasons as the Seahawks’ starting QB.

While the Raiders are under a new regime, they don’t have a great foundation to build off of at least in the short term. They were 13th in the league last year with 223.4 passing yards per game, dead last in rushing with 79.8 yards per game on the ground, and 29th out of the 32 NFL teams in points per game at 18.2.

“There is so much work that has to be done in Las Vegas,” Bumpus said. “I understand what entices him to go there. Talk about the relationships, and you have a guy in Brock Bowers who’s going to be one of the best tight ends in the game. But now let’s talk about your depth chart.”

The Raiders’ top wide receiver is Jakobi Meyers, who was 20th in the NFL last year with 1,027 receiving yards. But after him is Tre Tucker, who had 539 receiving yards in 2024, and Kyle Philips, who spent all of last season on the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad and hasn’t appeared in an NFL game since 2023.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks have added Cooper Kupp and Marquez Valdes-Scantling to a receivers room led by 2024 breakout player Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and they are expected to put much more emphasis on the running game in new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s wide zone scheme.

“The personnel isn’t there (with the Raiders),” Bumpus said. “And Geno’s going to be asked to do even more over there than he would have been asked to do over here (with the Seahawks) because of the change in the offense with Kubiak and hopefully being able to run the football.”

There’s one other matter to consider that’s pretty important: the Raiders’ competition in the AFC West.

“On a personal level, I’m happy for Geno. He probably feels great. … But when we break it down to football, there’s a lot of work to be done, and the way he’s talking about the situation makes it seems like he forgot you gotta play Kansas City twice, you gotta play the Chargers twice, and Denver ain’t no chumps neither,” Bumpus said.

“You just made your job that much harder. But you did get your guaranteed money, you got some confidence put up in you, so I’m happy for you when it comes to that. But I think it’s gonna be really tough over there for him.”

Michael Bumpus answers four football questions in the Four Down Territory segment during each edition of Bump and Stacy. Hear Monday’s segment in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post, and catch Bump and Stacy from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.

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