Real Reason Why Tom Brady Chose Geno Smith over Sam Darnold

Minority owner Tom Brady reportedly advised the Raiders against signing former Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, prompting the team to choose Geno Smith instead.

Real Reason Why Tom Brady Chose Geno Smith over Sam Darnold

Tom Brady (circle), Geno Smith, Sam Darnold (Images via Yahoo/Reuters/Raiders.com)

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After what could only be described as their worst season since relocation to the Sin City, the Las Vegas Raiders entered the 2025 offseason with a sense of urgency. The team, invested in by former NFL quarterback Tom Brady, introduced Pete Carroll as the new head coach after firing Antonio Pearce. They also solved one of their biggest issues by bringing Geno Smith from the Seattle Seahawks.

In 2024, the Raiders managed only four wins, losing all games against their division rivals for the first time since 2006. One of their issues in the past season was the quarterback rotation. The Raiders rotated Aidan O’Connell and Desmond Ridder, both of them proving to be unreliable in the center. It was evident that they needed urgent change, which resulted in rejoining Smith with his former coach.

The move was spearheaded by minority owner Tom Brady, despite earlier statements from the organization claiming otherwise. There were multiple options ahead of the Brady including trading up at the NFL Draft 2025 to bring a strong candidate or trading in.

In addition to Geno Smith, former Minnesota Vikings quarterback who led them to 14 wins in the past season, Sam Darnold, was also floated as an option. However, Brady reportedly slammed the brakes on Darnold, asking the team not to sign Darnold.

Though Brady hasn’t revealed the strategy behind his decision, it hasn’t stopped the sportscaster from painting a picture.

In the Fully Loaded podcast hosted by HOFer Chris Carter and entrepreneur Shawn Mealike, Carter put forth his two cents on why he thinks Brady leaned towards Geno Smith.

Geno Smith has a more proven track record in the kind of system that Pete Carroll is going to run… The Raiders, physically, want to run the football. The Vikings, for the past several years, have been a passing football team. So, yes, Tom Brady had something to do with it. Ask Tom about everything… He should have an evaluation on the quarterback.

Chris Carter commented

Sam Darnold have since joined the Seattle Seahawks filling in for the vacant spot left by Smith’s departure.

A new Aidin Ebrahimi list involving Geno Smith cause of concern for the Raiders

In the past week, Geno Smith had his fair share of bad outputs. He came under the radar for flaunting his NFL money, which has been criticized as an unclassy act. Furthermore, an incident involving him that required security intervention has also irked some fans. Amidst all this, a list made by Rotoballer’s Aidin Ebrahimi has shown potential to disrupt the Raiders’ plans coming season.

Geno Smith
Geno Smith (Image via New York Post)

Ebrahimi identified six quarterbacks who could potentially face a benching during the 2025 season, with Smith among those listed. While acknowledging that the Raiders hold Smith in high regard, Ebrahimi noted that the quarterback’s statistical performance places him in the “average” tier. He suggested that this could prompt the team to consider giving the younger Aidan O’Connell an opportunity under center.

This will likely be a run-heavy team with Ashton Jeanty, so if Smith struggles early on, he could be replaced by O’Connell. And don’t let Smith’s new contract fool you either. Jimmy Garoppolo signed a three-year, $67.5 million contract with the Raiders in 2023, but was benched for O’Connell in Week 9. It won’t be surprising if something similar happened to Smith.

Ebrahimi wrote

If at all it’s any consolation, Sam Darnold is also mentioned in the said six quarterbacks who could be benched in the upcoming season. In addition to Smith and Darnold, former Steelers QBs Russell Wilson (New York Giants), Justin Fields (New York Jets), Daniel Jones, and Anthony Richardson (Indianapolis Colts) are mentioned. However, the quarterbacks of Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints are excluded due to their currently untangled and messy QB situation.

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