Smith ready to prove he's the man to lead Raiders

HENDERSON, Nev. — At age 73, Pete Carroll is the old man of the Las Vegas Raiders. But his quarterback is no spring chicken himself.

Geno Smith, who is being asked to lead the Silver and Black out of the wilderness and into the postseason, is the old man among the players. At 34 years old and a veteran of 13 NFL seasons, Smith has seen it all and done most everything, except hold the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Can he change that narrative here with the Raiders? He’ll lean on that experience and his relationship with Carroll from their days in Seattle to give it his best shot.

But first things first. Smith and the Raiders need to make the playoffs, something the organization has done just once since moving from Oakland to Las Vegas in 2020. That came in 2021 when they made the AFC wild card game and lost to Cincinnati. They haven’t won a playoff game since the 2002 season.

“It’s exciting to be back on the field,” Smith said Wednesday following the first day. ”I thought we had a good practice. Guys were flying around. It was a good day.”

Day One of training camp at the Intermountain Health Performance Center began with temperatures in the low-to- mid-80s, the constant blare of air horns indicating it was time to move on from drill to drill and Carroll going all over the fields to offer encouragement and an occasional tutorial chat. In other words, the tone was set for what Carroll hopes will result in a team ready to play come Week 1 on Sept. 7 against the Patriots in Foxboro, Mass.

For Smith, the personal challenge is to get better every day, become more familiar with offensive coordinator Chip Kelly’s playbook, grow his relationship with quarterbacks coach Greg Olson and be on the same page as his teammates.

“I think repetition is the most important thing,” Smith said. “Going through it out there on the field, doing all the little extra things to get better.”

Smith is coming off his best year statistically of his NFL career. He passed for 4,320 yards, 21 touchdowns, 15 interceptions, had a 70.4 percent completion rate and a 93.2 quarterback rating. Ironically, it happened without Carroll on the sidelines in Seattle. But now that they’re reunited in Las Vegas, Smith doesn’t believe his numbers will slip. Especially with so many weapons at his disposal, including tight end Brock Bowers and rookie running back Ashton Jeanty.

“Every day is about proving yourself in this league,” he said. “Not only to your guys, but to the rest of the league and to yourself. So for me, when you come to a new team, you have to set the standard and it means hard work. I want to make sure that my guys knew I was going to be here 100 percent of the time and put all the work in, maximize the resources and be ready to put our best foot forward.”

Safety Jeremy Chinn said the poise Smith shows on the field and his experience will only help the Raiders.

“He’s a great leader on the field and a big voice in the locker room,” Chinn said. “You watch him on the field and he can put the ball in places the defense can’t get to.”

Smith’s familiarity with Carroll and his budding relationship with Kelly has made his adjustment with the Raiders smoother than what might be expected.

“Pete doesn’t seem different at all,” Smith said. “I’m sure he’s learned a lot from his time away (from football). He’s always trying to improve.

“For me as a player, it’s great to see him and the energy he brings every day. The first meeting, guys were losing their minds in there. But Pete is only going to continue to get better as a coach, because that’s his mindset.”

Smith said he feels like he’s connected with Kelly as well.  

“Chip has done a great job implementing his style of play,” Smith said of Kelly. “He wants us to be physical. Scheme-wise, he puts us in a position to make plays. We have a lot of weapons so he’s helping us get better.”  

He may be 34 and the oldest player on the Raiders, but Smith believes he still has life in his arm and his legs. He has been willing to put in the work during the offseason since the Raiders acquired him in mid-March to be their starter at quarterback.

“For me, leadership is a natural thing,” he said. “I’ve always said I’m not a big talker. I want our guys to follow me by example and push myself and let the rest handle itself.”