Who Should I Start? Geno Smith or Jameis Winston

Monday, March 10, 10:23 PM

The Las Vegas Raiders surprisingly acquired quarterback Geno Smith from the Seattle Seahawks last Friday in exchange for a third-round pick in this year's draft and are now likely to reward him with a long-term contract extension that he was hoping the Seahawks would give him, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The addition of Smith doesn't necessarily mean the Raiders won't take a rookie signal-caller with the seventh overall pick in this year's draft, but it's probably much less likely now that they've addressed the most important position in football for the foreseeable future. The 34-year-old Smith was a Pro Bowler in 2022 and 2023 in Seattle and threw for 4,320 yards, 21 TDs and 15 interceptions in 17 games last year. He is going from a receiving corps of DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Tyler Lockett to Jakobi Meyers and tight end Brock Bowers, so it's a downgrade in terms of weapons. Depending on what else the Raiders do in free agency and the draft, Smith profiles as a midrange QB2, at best, heading into 2025.

Tuesday, March 11, 12:02 AM

The San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Chargers have been in talks with Cleveland Browns impending free-agent quarterback Jameis Winston for potential backup roles, a league source told Josina Anderson. Another team to watch could be the New York Giants, depending on how their talks with other signal-callers go. The 31-year-old former first overall pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2015 out of Florida State played in 12 games (seven starts) for the Browns after Deshaun Watson went down with a torn Achilles last year. He initially gave the Browns offense a spark but ended up committing 14 turnovers in 12 games and was eventually benched in a lost season. Even with Watson unlikely to play in 2025, Winston isn't expected to return to Cleveland. The turnover-prone gunslinger would back up Justin Herbert in L.A. and Brock Purdy in San Francisco.