What happened with former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith on Friday was not just something anyone knew. Instead, literally everyone assumed he would be released by his latest team, the Las Vegas Raiders. Smith, like former Seattle head coach Pete Carroll, was one-season-and-done in Vegas.
Playing with an arrogance in 2025 that was never truly earned, Geno Smith was awful. One reason that Carroll was fired immediately after the season was one of the reasons he was let go by Seattle: The coach is too loyal to fellow players and coordinators. Geno Smith was a symptom of why Carroll failed, but he was a big reason, too.
After being released by the Raiders, though, Smith will likely still have a future in the NFL, and that could be with a former team. Seahawks fans can relax, however. That won't be in the Pacific Northwest.
Former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith released by the Las Vegas Raiders
Instead, Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic reports, Smith could go back to the team he began with: The New York Jets. The issue is that Smith is likely destined to fail all over again in New York should he return there. New York is once again trying to build a winner, but it doesn't have the infrastructure or the roster to be one.
Do Seahawks fans care if Smith meets the brutal end of his career with the Jets? Many don't, or even wish that to come true. The quarterback flipped 12s off in a preseason game in 2025, his first game back as a former player. One could never argue that Smith was a classy player.
He even flipped off Raiders fans during the season, too. The QB's self-awareness was always in question, his attitude mercurial, and his ability to win consistently nonexistent. He won't win with the Jets either, though he might not fail as badly as he did this past season when his Raiders went 4-13.
Hopefully, after the Seattle Seahawks wanted to rid themselves of a player who was at times too harsh on his teammates, and after the Las Vegas Raiders decided they'd rather start over with a rookie quarterback than the mid-30s veteran, Geno Smith has learned a little humbleness. That is unlikely, though, as he never learned that while being stuck as a backup for many seasons.
In the end, Smith won't go down as a terrible quarterback. He could throw well and run decently when he chose to, but he will be forgotten by most in 10 years. Does he deserve better? That is up to each person and fanbase to decide.