The Las Vegas Raiders are once again in the market for a starting quarterback, but will they draft one in the first round, or sign a big-name veteran? New head coach Pete Carroll has made it clear that he wants to compete now. He wasn’t hired for a rebuild. So, how will this affect the Raiders’ strategy when it comes to the most important position in football?
The Raiders hold the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and they could use that selection coupled with future draft capital to move up for someone like Miami’s Cam Ward, or use that first selection to draft Shedeur Sanders out of Colorado. However, this quarterback class isn’t viewed as exceptional — especially compared to last year’s group.
After missing out on Matthew Stafford, The Athletic reported that the Raiders are exploring veteran quarterback options on the free agent and trade market. Yes, that apparently includes the possibility of trading for a current starting quarterback. We know Sam Darnold, Russell Wilson Aaron Rodgers and potentially Kirk Cousins could be options for the Raiders depending on the market, but which current starting quarterbacks could The Athletic be referring to? Let’s take a look at two potential options:
The Arizona Cardinals have done nothing to indicate they are looking to move Kyler Murray, but anything is possible in today’s NFL. The former No. 1 overall pick threw for 3,851 yards, 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while also rushing for 572 yards and five touchdowns in 2024. He’s just the fourth quarterback to ever record three seasons of 3,500 passing yards and 500 rushing yards, and the first to record 200 passing yards per game and 30 rushing yards per game over six straight seasons.
Apart from the Cardinals’ level of desire to part ways with their franchise quarterback, the other issue would be what Arizona would want in return. If you were general manager John Spytek or Tom Brady, would you give up your No. 6 overall pick for Murray? Probably not.
Raiders QB rumors: Las Vegas could target Aaron Rodgers under one condition, unlikely to sign Russell Wilson
John Breech
Let’s just get the Seahawks band back together under coach Carroll. Seattle has put itself in a weird situation over the last week. The Seahawks released Tyler Lockett, Rayshawn Jenkins, George Fant, Dre’Mont Jones and Roy Robertson-Harris, plus DK Metcalf is looking for a change of scenery. Seattle also has a new offensive coordinator and a quarterback entering the final year of his deal, so Geno Smith absolutely could be available for the right price.
Smith set career highs in completion percentage (70.4%), passing yards (4,320) and wins (10) last season, but also finished 21st among qualified quarterbacks in EPA/play (-0.04), and threw 15 interceptions, which was one off from the league high.
