A top-10 draft pick, a new owner, and a new head coach—the Las Vegas Raiders are ready to turn the page on a rough couple of years. Their first major move to spark that change came with the acquisition of Geno Smith from the Seattle Seahawks.
A surprising trade given their draft positioning, the move gives the Raiders a legitimate starting-caliber quarterback. And it has left one of the league’s best defensive players, Maxx Crosby, fired up.
Maxx Crosby Excited About Geno Smith Trade
Last season was brutal for Raiders fans. A five-win campaign is never something to celebrate, and neither side of the ball performed well. Even the defense, usually a bright spot, struggled, while the offense ranked near the bottom of the league.
Gardner Minshew II, the team’s primary starter, is still a free agent, and after finishing 35th in PFSN’s QB+ metric, it was unlikely Las Vegas would bring him back. Aidan O’Connell showed some promise in limited action, ranking 20th in the same metric.
However, neither quarterback was enough to elevate the offense. Smith, who finished with the fourth-most passing yards in the league last season (4,320), gives the Raiders hope. Subsequently, Crosby is all in.
Speaking on his podcast “The Rush,” Crosby shared details of his first conversation with Smith. “Geno has the big-a** smile on his face and I’m like, ‘What’s up, bro? You good? What’s the word?'”
Barely able to contain his excitement, Crosby recounted Smith’s reaction: “‘It’s done. It’s done. It’s done.’ And bro, I was so hyped. I’m literally yelling at the phone.” While he kept the details of the conversation private, he did call it “great” and described his new quarterback as “dope”.
#Raiders Maxx Crosby on his Podcast “The Rush”
Talking about his first reaction/FaceTime with Geno Smith once the news hit. If this doesn’t get you fired up as a Raiders fan to see our leader who’s been through so much get this excited idk what will🏴☠️ pic.twitter.com/IpqVgPOWJE— ShifftttyyyQB1🏴☠️ (@raiders1022) March 11, 2025
“I was extremely excited, I know he is extremely excited. And today, I gotta see him in the building. He was in there in the morning and we got to chop it up. He was on the move, doing the physicals and doing some stuff, but we got to chop it up and bro, he’s super fired up.”
For Crosby, who had voiced concerns about the team’s lack of continuity before the offseason began, this move was a major step forward. At 34, Smith could be the Raiders’ quarterback for a while, and Crosby understands the significance of that.
Crosby backed up his point by citing Seattle’s recent success.
“I think it helps us immensely in a lot of ways. With the draft upcoming, it gives us more flexibility. So there’s a lot of good things that come with that as well. And he’s a winner, bro. Like he’s done really well in Seattle.”
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Proving his point, he described the season the Seahawks just had, clearly having done his homework. “This past year, they won 10 games, he was playing some of his best ball at the end of the year. So it’s super exciting, bro. A guy with a winning pedigree, a guy that was written off early, but he got back. He’s got that dawg in him.”
With Smith now in the fold, Crosby seems energized about the Raiders’ future. Now it’s about putting the right pieces together—both in free agency and the draft—to build a true contender in a loaded AFC.