Las Vegas Raiders forced to release Pro Bowl star hated by their own fans after Tom Brady failed to trade him
The Las Vegas Raiders have released quarterback Geno Smith after his disastrous 2025 season in Sin City.
The move is no surprise and frees up $8million in cap space for the team’s much-needed offseason rebuild but they will also take on $18.5m in dead money.
The Raiders, whose minority owner Tom Brady is playing an active role in their offseason rebuild, had been trying desperately to trade the quarterback and bring in some kind of return, according to NFL Insider Ian Rapoport.
But now, the organization have accepted that there are no takers and have cut their losses.
The Raiders have the No. 1 pick in the draft next month and are widely expected to take Fernando Mendoza as their quarterback of the future.
The news will be celebrated by the passionate Raiders fanbase desperate for success, too. When the team lost to the Cleveland Browns in November, Smith flipped the bird at the team’s fans who were criticizing him as he ran off the field.
The Las Vegas Raiders have released quarterback Geno Smith after a terrible 2025
He later apologized, saying: ‘I made a poor judgment out of frustration. And that’s not an excuse. I’ve got to be better than that and hold myself to a higher standard.
‘In that moment, I didn’t. I’m sincerely apologetic and very sorry for doing that. I just want to make it known that those things will never happen from me again.’
Smith, a 2x Pro Bowl player, will be of interest to multiple teams as a free agent. The New York Jets are said to be among the interested parties.
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