Damian Lillard makes Shedeur Sanders plea to Raiders after Geno Smith's latest stinker

Damian Lillard makes Shedeur Sanders plea to Raiders after Geno Smith's latest stinker originally appeared on The Sporting News

It has been a brutal start to Geno Smith's Las Vegas Raiders tenure and fans are starting to have flashbacks to 2024.

Smith was supposed to be this massive upgrade for the Raiders, but instead he has been a turnover machine with a league-high nine picks. He hasn't exactly played well in between those interceptions, either, and we saw that again in the Week 5 defeat at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts, a game that wasn't close.

And, don't look now, but the Raiders have a worse record through five games (1-4) this year than they did last season (2-3).

NBA superstar Damian Lillard weighed-in on the situation and actually defended Geno from those who believe he's washed up.

However, Lillard did make it clear he wants to see the Raiders go after Shedeur Sanders to "get ready for the future."

"Time to gone ahead and trade for Shedeur man," Lillard wrote on X.

"(Geno Smith is) not washed… he just turning the ball over. But it’s time to get Shedeur [Sanders] on the team and get ready for the future," Lillard added.

The Browns recently decided to make the switch to Dillon Gabriel from Joe Flacco, and while many assumed that might mean Sanders would get the bump up to QB2, that did not happen and instead he's still third in line.

Would the Raiders consider trading for Sanders?

We can't say for sure, but given the fact that they passed on him several times in the 2025 NFL draft, we doubt they would.

Sanders doesn't exactly have the best reputation after going through the pre-draft process, which likely led to his legendary draft slide. 

And he didn't help himself at all after he went full mime when reporters asked him questions about Gabriel getting the nod.

If you put all that aside, it isn't the worst idea for the Raiders to take a swing. It is quite clear Geno is not the answer the Raiders need and Las Vegas should take a chance on a young quarterback if they can get their hands on one.

If it's not Sanders or another quarterback this season, the Raiders will almost certainly be looking for their guy in 2026.

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