Photo: Ronald Martinez
The Seattle Seahawks are trading quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders, reuniting him with head coach Pete Carroll. Kelvin Washington and former NFL All-Pro safety Kerry Rhodes (in for Rob Parker) react as the news breaks, giving their immediate reactions, thoughts and takeaways from the deal. The guys agree: this is a good indication that the Raiders are finally turning a corner in terms of building a winning culture.
Kerry Rhodes: "There's a sense of familiarity there [between Geno and Pete Carroll]... Pete's trying to get that organization stabilized, so he went out and got somebody he's familiar with -- somebody he's gotten the best out of. So you have that stable foundation there now, and I think this can work as a short-term plan to get to what's next."
Kelvin Washington: "We know good and well that in this league, you have to have a quarterback... Aaron Rodgers was being thrown around as a possibility for them, but I think Geno's a much better option. If it ends up being another couple of years until they draft their guy, [they now have a great placeholder to let them take their time and get it right]. Or they can draft someone this year and have them sit and learn behind Geno."