The Las Vegas Raiders were determined to put together a title-contending squad during the NFL offseason, and after five weeks with a new-look squad, things are falling apart, with all eyes on Geno Smith.

The Raiders finished last season with a record of 4-13, prompting moves to bring in Pete Carroll as Pierce’s successor, trade for Smith and draft promising young running back Ashton Jeanty with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

All three moves seemed to be steps in the right direction for a team that desperately needed to right the ship, with Carroll’s resume speaking for itself, Smith being a clear upgrade under center and Jeanty potentially being a star right out of the gate.

Bold moves lead to same results for the Raiders

Despite the team’s offseason aggressiveness in an attempt to turn things around in Las Vegas, the results have been the same after the first five weeks of the 2025 NFL season. The Raiders are sitting at 1-4 after Week 5, with four straight losses and Carroll in a difficult spot.

Even though Smith left a lot to be desired with his play during his first five games with the Raiders, Carroll continues to stick by his guy. Smith opened up to the media this week about his mindset amid his struggles, via Hondo Carpenter of Sports Illustrated.

Carroll pushed for the Raiders to trade for Smith rather than bring in a quarterback through the draft with their No. 6 overall pick, as there was some buzz about Las Vegas potentially targeting Shedeur Sanders, who ultimately plummeted in the draft to the fifth round, where he was selected No. 144 overall by the Cleveland Browns.

Ironically enough, the Raiders also traded for journeyman Kenny Pickett before the season got underway, who was battling it out with Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, and Sanders in Cleveland for a shot at being the starter.

Raiders backup Aidan O’Connell suffered a wrist injury during the preseason, resulting in his placement on injured reserve, which forced the Raiders’ brass to make a move for Pickett as insurance behind Smith.

Geno Smith headed to the bench?

In Week 5’s blowout loss to the Indianapolis Colts, Smith had another rough performance, as he was unable to get the team in the end zone and threw two more interceptions. The veteran signal-caller has been throwing interceptions at an alarming rate over the first five games of the season, as he has now thrown nine, which leads the league ahead of Jake Browning (8) of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Considering the team traded a third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft for Smith and then signed him to a two-year contract extension worth $75 million, with $66.5 million guaranteed, the Raiders made a significant investment in the two-time Pro Bowler.

Whenever a team makes that kind of an investment, especially at the quarterback position, there’s a reluctance to bench that player, as it is not a good look for the franchise decision makers. However, Smith, outside of the Week 1 win over the New England Patriots, hasn’t shown an ability to lead this team to wins or keep them competitive.

Despite the league-leading interceptions and red-zone struggles, Carroll still doesn’t seem to think it’s time for a change.

“That’s not what’s necessary,” Carroll said, via Vincent Bonsignore of Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We need to get better and get right. So these are the games that we’re working on, and these are the games we have to learn from and grow from so that we can change the course of the way things are going.”

The 34-year-old quarterback has become a liability, as he hasn’t made good decisions on the field, and it doesn’t look like he’s making any progress in getting this offense back on track, even with weapons like Jeanty and All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers at his disposal.

Smith’s performance over the first five games of his Raiders stint is unacceptable, and a change at the quarterback position is something Carroll and his team need to seriously consider heading into Week 6.

Start Kenny Pickett or make another trade?

If the Raiders decide to bench Smith, there are two routes the team can go in moving forward. The logical move is to start Pickett as soon as Week 6 against the one-win Tennessee Titans, who are also having their quarterback issues, bringing along No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward.

This would give Pickett an ideal opportunity to gain confidence and momentum, as the Titans are arguably one of the worst teams in the league this season. However, the same could be said about Smith, as a favorable matchup like this might give him what he needs to get back to form.

The other direction the Raiders can go is to scour the trade market in the league, which is what the Bengals did on Tuesday by trading Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals, presumably to be the new starter, replacing Browning, while the team waits for superstar Joe Burrow to recover from his toe injury.

Ultimately, it will be a difficult decision for Carroll, who clearly has a soft spot for Smith after their time together on the Seattle Seahawks. The pressure will be mounting this week, as it’s safe to assume that longtime team owner Mark Davis and Brady could be urging the oldest coach in the NFL (74) to make a change and give Pickett a shot in hopes of salvaging the season.

After becoming Ben Roethlisberger‘s successor with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he played his first two seasons in the league under Mike Tomlin, playing a total of 25 regular-season games. He threw for 4,474 yards, 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions with a 62.6 completion percentage and a passer rating of 78.8.

Pickett was then traded to the Philadelphia Eagles after the Steelers signed veteran Russell Wilson. He rode the bench in Philadelphia behind star quarterback Jalen Hurts, as the team went on to win the Super Bowl. Pickett was then traded for the second time in his career to the Browns before being dealt to the Raiders.

There’s no doubt that Pickett is eager to prove that he can still be a starter in the NFL and hopes to get that opportunity with the Raiders, given Smith’s struggles and lack of performance this season.

Although it is a risk for Carroll to make the switch after Week 5, there doesn’t seem to be much evidence that Smith will turn things around, so a change to Pickett might be the smart way to go, even if it turns out to be a one-week experiment against the Titans.