The Las Vegas Raiders trading for Geno Smith may not have ruled out the possibility of them drafting a quarterback in the first round, but giving Smith an extension likely does. The extension is a long-term financial commitment and keeps Smith under contract through the 2027.
Pairing this move with drafting a rookie quarterback doesn’t make sense. The Atlanta Falcons did sign Kirk Cousins to a four-year contract then draft Michael Penix Jr. a year ago, so never say never. We’ll just say doubtful. This takes one team ahead of the New Orleans Saints out of the Shedeur Sanders sweepstakes. Sanders still has a draft range of second overall to late first round. The Raiders were a team that could have dropped a potential free fall.
The quarterback-needy teams in the top-10 are the first three picks: Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and New York Giants. The Saints won't be able to jump in front of them if they are in the market for a quarterback.
The next group would be the Saints and New York Jets. The Saints find themselves last in the pecking order among those teams, but they’d have a better chance of trading ahead of the Jets than convincing Cleveland to trade back seven spots. It would be cheaper too. Instead of being competition for Sanders, the Raiders could be the team that helps facilitate New Orleans acquiring their quarterback of the future.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Geno Smith's extension could help Saints draft a franchise QB
