The Seahawks aimed much higher in a Geno Smith trade compared to what they eventually received. Fetching a third-round pick three years after their Russell Wilson trade brought eight assets back, the Seahawks asked the Raiders about a player who drew trade interest before last year’s deadline.
Seattle included Maxx Crosby in its trade talks with Las Vegas, per SI.com’s Albert Breer, who indicates the NFC West team asked for Crosby in a trade that would have sent Smith and D.K. Metcalf to the Raiders. The Raiders quickly informed the Seahawks Crosby was a non-starter, and the team reached a record-setting extension with the star edge rusher earlier this week.
As Metcalf still looms as a trade possibility, the Seahawks will have a new starting quarterback in 2025. They have become the lead suitor for Sam Darnold, with The Athletic’s Dianna Russini adding that several execs around the league expect Darnold to end up in Seattle. The Titans have also emerged as a front-line Darnold suitor, but that looks to have changed after this Smith trade, which has brought several Darnold-Seattle links.
Mark Davis said last year Crosby was not available, and although another trade link emerged early this offseason, no serious traction came out of it. The Raiders have since signed Crosby to a three-year, $106.5MM extension. That deal came together quickly, with Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio indicating it took only “a matter of hours” for the sides to hammer out the extension. That is rather surprising, considering that Crosby set a new non-QB contract record despite only agreeing to a three-year term.
Crosby will receive $62.5MM guaranteed at signing, Florio adds, with that figure including his 2025 and ’26 base salaries. Crosby’s 2027 base salary ($29MM) is guaranteed for injury and becomes fully guaranteed on Day 3 of the 2026 league year. That will amount to a practical guarantee, as the Raiders will be extraordinarily unlikely to move on from Crosby next year. Crosby’s 2028 and ’29 base salaries are nonguaranteed.
It is worth wondering if the Seahawks and Raiders’ Smith talks impacted the Crosby extension. Even if they did not, Seattle attempting to land the dominant pass rusher in a package that would have reunited Pete Carroll with Metcalf as well is quite noteworthy. The Raiders could still acquire Metcalf and/or Tyler Lockett, the latter becoming a free agent minutes before the younger Seahawks wideout’s trade request surfaced. The Seahawks want the Metcalf trade matter resolved by the draft.
Metcalf was linked to preferring a warm-weather city and landing in a place with more quarterback stability. This could certainly be perceived as a knock on Smith, and ESPN.com’s Lindsey Thiry adds that the Smith trade — and Darnold-to-Seattle rumors — could alter the Metcalf conversation in Seattle. Darnold has not been as good as Smith on the whole, though the Vikings QB outplayed the former Comeback Player of the Year in 2024.
Darnold is now expected to leave Minnesota, and it will be interesting to see how far Seattle will need to go contractually to land the breakthrough passer. The Seahawks’ offense will lack the overall weaponry the Vikings’ provided, especially if the team trades Metcalf. Keeping Metcalf would make the Seahawks more appealing to Darnold, even though Jaxon Smith-Njigba authored a breakout season. Darnold will understandably want to know how serious the Seahawks are about moving Metcalf before he commits, as other suitors’ offers could still impact a Darnold-to-Seattle path.