The Seahawks wouldn’t have traded Smith without feeling strongly that next Wednesday they could sign Darnold, clearly the top free agent QB on the market.
The Las Vegas Raiders were one of many quarterback-needy NFL franchises entering the offseason, but wasted little time in finding a solution under center with Friday's trade for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith.
Count the Las Vegas Raiders as out on Minnesota Vikings free agent Sam Darnold. Count the Seattle Seahawks as in. The Seahawks traded quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a third-round pick on Friday,
Seattle is widely expected to heavily pursue free agent quarterback Sam Darnold to replace Smith. When this news broke, I began to wonder why the Seahawks would be willing to potentially pay Darnold roughly $40 million per year (which is what Spotrac is estimating he will fetch) when they apparently did not want to give Geno Smith the $40-$45 million a year he is reportedly seeking.
That's good to know if you're Aaron Rodgers.  It might be good to know if you're Daniels Jones, too. At first glance of just the numbers, Rodgers was solid enough in his first full season as the Jets starter.