Former WVU football star quarterback Geno Smith signed a new two-year $75 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders this past offseason – a contract that is a clear indication that the Raiders and head coach Pete Carroll have the ultimate trust that Smith can be a productive quarterback in the NFL. Smith earned the starting role for the Raiders, but has had good and bad performances so far this season.
Following the Raiders’ 41-24 loss to the Washington Commanders, one bright spot from the game was the level of play that Smith brought to the Raiders' offense. Pro Football Focus issued an 84.2 rating to Smith after Week 3’s game, which earned Smith the fourth-highest rating in Week 3. The only three quarterbacks that earned a better rating than Smith were Sam Darnold (92.7), who is the starter for Smith’s most previous team, the Seattle Seahawks, Marcus Mariota (86.5), and Daniel Jones (84.6).
The highest-graded QBs in Week 3 🎯 pic.twitter.com/agMiOy4Arp
— PFF (@PFF) September 23, 2025
The former Mountaineer great finished the game going 19-29 with 289 passing yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. All three of Smith’s passing touchdowns went to wide receiver Tre Tucker, who is a third-year player from another Big 12 school, Cincinnati.
Smith continues to build his NFL legacy as a top-end quarterback in the league
After three straight seasons of throwing for at least 20 touchdowns and at least 3,600 passing yards, Smith played his way into getting a new contract with the Raiders. Last season, Smith finished with 4,320 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, a completion percentage of 70.4%, while throwing only 15 interceptions as a 17-game starter.
Smith earned legacy status in Morgantown, spending four seasons (2009-2012) repping the gold and blue. Smith is not only the all-time passing yards leader in WVU history with 11,662 yards in four seasons, but is also the all-time passing touchdowns leader with 98 touchdowns.
Since joining the NFL, Smith has had an up-and-down career. Smith has been on five total teams, including the Raiders, but has played more than five games with only the New York Jets and the Seattle Seahawks. After bouncing around for a while, Smith finally landed in Seattle and saw his career experience a resurgence. Smith was a Pro Bowl quarterback in 2022 and 2023 and earned the AP Comeback Player of the Year in 2022.
The 34-year-old is still slinging the rock in his 12th year in the league. The Raiders are not projected to win very many games this year, but Smith does not seem to be the problem so far and could be one of the few bright spots for the Raiders in 2025.