Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald has made clear that the team will not play their starters in preseason Week 1 versus the Las Vegas Raiders. This makes sense and has become routine. There is no reason to risk key players being injured in a meaningless game.
Former Seahawks head coach (and new Raiders head guy) Pete Carroll is taking a different approach. Carroll said that "everyone will be available" to play some when Las Vegas travels to Lumen Field to take on Seattle. Perhaps, this is part of the coach's "always compete" mantra, but it's a risk.
For 12s, the outcome of the game won't matter. In fact, if the Raiders play their starters and do extremely well at the beginning of the game and Seattle falls behind, who cares? Carroll's first team will be facing Macdonald's second team.
Seattle Seahawks fans should expect Raiders' Geno Smith to play in preseason Week 1
It is Las Vegas's first team that matters here. If Carroll does play his starters, then that will mean that quarterback Geno Smith is probably going to take the field. Smith was QB1 for the Seahawks for the last three seasons, but then he decided he wanted out and requested a trade. General manager John Schneider dealt him to Vegas.
Geno Smith should know what to expect when he plays his first down against his former team. Pete Carroll is likely to be welcomed back warmly. He was the most successful head coach in Seattle football history until he was basically fired. He didn't choose to leave the Seahawks; the team made the decision for him.
Smith, though, begged to leave 12s and the team behind. His welcome from the Lumen Field crowd will likely not be as warm as Carroll's. The quarterback should expect to hear some boos. Maybe a lot of them.
#Raiders HC Pete Carroll said he plans to play the starters against the Seahawks on Thursday
— Tashan Reed (@tashanreed) August 5, 2025
This is what happens when a player who was still under contract with one's favorite team says they don't want to play for one's favorite team anymore. Many people will not view that kindly and will not decide to be the better person by cheering for Smith because of the good times he had with the Seahawks.
Ultimately, Geno Smith went the same route as Russell Wilson. Wilson wanted to have Pete Carroll and John Schneider fired, and when that didn't happen, he was happy to leave. Smith never thought he had the power that Wilson found out he didn't have, but Smith wanted to no longer play for the Seattle Seahawks.
At least one thing is clear: Mike Macdonald is making the smart move of not risking his players getting hurt. Pete Carroll is. Let's hope Carroll doesn't regret the decision.