Las Vegas has a way out if needed.
Raiders have an $18.5 million Geno Smith escape hatch originally appeared on The Sporting News
The Las Vegas Raiders are big fans of Geno Smith.
That's why they traded for him this offseason from the Seattle Seahawks. He'll be their starting quarterback, and new head coach Pete Carroll is fond of him from their time together in the Pacific Northwest.
But if the Raiders don't like what they see, they've got a way out. They structured Smith's contract in such a way that it's possible to escape after this season with just an $18.5 million dead cap hit, which isn't bad in the QB world.
ESPN's Dan Graziano laid it out in a new article Wednesday morning:
"Smith's contract really doesn't bind the Raiders to him for more than this season. He has $18.5 million in guaranteed money on the books for 2026, but because the Raiders don't like to put signing bonuses in their contracts, that's the extent of the dead money hit if they want to cut him next offseason. If they keep him through 2026, they'd pay him a total of $40 million this year and $26.5 million next year. There will be no guarantees on the books for 2027, meaning Vegas could move on from him after 2026 with no dead money hit whatsoever."
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It's not the most likely outcome, no. But it's there if needed.
The Raiders are hoping Smith plays much like he did last season, when he completed 70.4% of his passes with the Seahawks.
He's got a star rookie RB behind him, Ashton Jeanty, and a potential Hall of Fame second-year tight end, Brock Bowers.
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The receiving corps isn't as strong, but Jakobi Meyers is a solid target, too.
Smith can certainly get the job done in this offense.
But if he doesn't, the Raiders have given themselves a way out.
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