After the Denver Broncos' playoff loss against the Buffalo Bills, head coach Sean Payton said that the Broncos need to find a way to be playing those types of games at home. Meaning -- we need to find a way to win the AFC West.
Well, winning the AFC West in 2025 just got a little tougher as the Las Vegas Raiders have made a blockbuster acquisition. After hiring former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll earlier this offseason, the Raiders have kept the connection to Seattle going and have struck a trade for quarterback Geno Smith.
A lot of Broncos fans are scoffing or even laughing at this addition because Smith is 34 going on 35 this year. He's had a late career resurgence in Seattle since the Russell Wilson trade and has become one of the more efficient quarterbacks in the NFL. Even though Smith is entering his mid-30s, he's still fully capable of playing at a high level and the fact that he's now in the division doesn't exactly help anyone.
The Raiders will be a much tougher out with Smith at quarterback, that's an undeniable fact.
Broncos will now have to face off against Geno Smith twice per year
BREAKING: #Seahawks QB Geno Smith traded to the #Raiders, multiple sources tell @NFLonFOX. pic.twitter.com/hia3r3VdRN
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 7, 2025
The compensation going back to the Seahawks in this trade is a third-round pick, which also means that the Raiders and Pete Carroll would rather have traded a premium draft selection than just sign Russell Wilson to a reasonable one or two-year deal.
That speaks volumes.
Last season, Smith completed over 70 percent of his passes with 21 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He wasn't lighting up the league, by any stretch, but he's a good quarterback. Not that the Broncos could previously overlook the Raiders, but that was one of those matchups on the schedule that you might have previously felt was a relatively "easy" one.
That's not going to be the case anymore.
Luckily for the Broncos, everyone in the division is affected by the move. The Broncos won't have any sort of clear path to the division and nobody should have expected things to be easy, but adding Smith temporarily makes winning 10-plus games a little harder for Denver.
Over the long haul, this move shouldn't really have Broncos fans hiding under their beds or anything like that. Smith is a nice acquisition for the Raiders for now, but this is a clear "kicking the can down the road" kind of move at the game's most important position.