After three-consecutive winning seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, Geno Smith found himself being shipped to the Las Vegas Raiders in favor of Sam Darnold. And in light of him throwing more interceptions than any other quarterback throughout the entire 2025 regular season, that chapter of his career has now come to an end as well.
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At 35 years of age, Smith now stands as one of the more undesirable quarterback options of this free agency period, but according to CBS Sports‘ NFL insider, Jonathan Jones, there may be a bit of hope to be found down in the Carolina’s. “Odds are that, in Week 1 of 2026, Geno Smith is going to be someone’s backup with the potential to ultimately start if injury happens or bad play takes place,” Jones prefaced.
“One place that I would just keep an eye on, the Carolina Panthers. They have Bryce Young, they are issuing the fifth-year option on Bryce Young as he heads into his fourth year, but they are getting rid of Andy Dalton and they need another backup quarterback.”
Considering the inconsistent rate of play that has plagued most of Young’s career, as as well as the fact that the team’s head coach and offensive coordinator, Dave Canales and Brad Idzik, both “spent some time with the Seattle Seahawks,” Jones believes that there’s enough of a preexisting connection, as well as a need, to justify the Panthers signing Smith to some sort of short-term deal.
Another one of CBS Sports’ veteran insiders, Ryan Wilson, also suggested that he “loves the idea of Carolina” for Smith, noting that it’s “a place where you’re not having to do a whole bunch.” Although, fans shouldn’t rule out the Minnesota Vikings either.
Thanks to the sheer amount of frustration that has stemmed from the franchise’s decision to move off of the now-Super Bowl champion in Sam Darnold for a since-struggling J.J. McCarthy, the demand for a quarterback has seemingly never been higher in Minnesota.
Throw in “Kevin O’Connell’s ability to get the most out of any quarterback,” and that’s enough for Wilson to envision Smith throwing to Justin Jefferson in 2026. “I feel like Geno Smith, in that offense, would absolutely cook.”
Unfortunately for the journeyman QB, it’s more likely than not that Jones’ suspicions of him playing a backup role will be proven correct. Minnesota figures to be the ideal landing spot, as it’s probably the only franchise that is willing to allow Smith to step back into a starting role, but there’s no guarantee that the Vikings will be interested in a signal caller who has averaged 16 interceptions a season throughout the past two years.
Simply put, Smith is now at the mercy of the market, and he’ll have to accept the reality that, at this point in his career, there aren’t many teams left who are willing to write him back.
