The starting quarterback shuffle has ended in Las Vegas.
With the monumental trade which brought former Seattle Seahawks quarterback to the desert in exchange for a third-round pick, the deal did more than just reunite Smith with his former Seattle coach Pete Carroll. who is the new head coach in Las Vegas.
The trade means minority owner Tom Brady has arrived and has already started contributing his knowledge and acumen to the player personnel department.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion evaluated the quarterbacks at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis over the last week. He must not have been impressed by any of them to wait and select one with the Raiders’ sixth pick in the first round.
The Raiders are inheriting the full $31 million left on Smith’s current contract, at least until they rip it up and give him a new long term deal in the top five quarterback neighborhood.
This was Brady’s decision and Brady’s only. Who knows quarterbacks better than one of the best to ever play the game. This is why the Raiders have Brady. He solved their biggest problem.
The Raiders might draft a young signal-caller, but it won’t be Shedeur Sanders and it won’t be in the first round. Smith is the Raiders’ quarterback of the present and the future.
Las Vegas has other holes that are more pressing than quarterback now. Gardner Minshew was already advised he won’t be back. It will not be surprising if Brady clears out the rest of the quarterback room and starts from scratch.