Late in the third quarter of the Las Vegas Raiders’ loss to the Denver Broncos, quarterback Geno Smith suffered a shoulder injury and did not return to the game. As such, backup QB Kenny Pickett finished the game for the Raiders and acquitted himself well, completing 8-of-11 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown.
The extent of Smith’s injury isn’t clear just yet, and when asked about it, head coach Pete Carroll made it clear that Smith won’t play if he isn’t right, and the Raiders will be ready to go, whether it is Smith or Pickett under center, via Raiders YouTube:
“Let me just wait and see what happens. I’m going to do what I think is the right thing to do. If Geno can play, that’s my thought. But I know Kenny can play. Our players understood it, too. Kenny did a good job. They recognize that he might pull the game.
“I’m hoping for Geno to get back out there and see how he does, but we’re not going to play if he’s not right. Kenny will be ready to go, and Aidan [O’Connell] will be ready to go as well. That’s just the way we deal with it.”
When talking about Pickett in particular, Carroll expressed a lot of faith in his ability should the Raiders give him the start in Week 14 against the Philadelphia Eagles:
“I’ve seen a lot of Kenny in practice when they always come back to that,” Carroll added. “He’s active, he’s quick, he’s really athletic, he’s a good thinker. He’s a really clearly competitive guy that gets situational football and knows what’s going on […] But his mentality, and I’m coaching the hell out of him because I want him to be ready if the opportunity pops. This is exactly how we did it with Geno for years. However long it takes for the opportunity, he’s going to be ready to go.
“He’s got enough stuff to him. His athleticism, I keep in mind, use your legs and run because he’s really quick. He can explode, get in the secondary, make things happen. It’s often helpful to him trying to make him see his way. I’m really positive about him. I love that he’s on our team.”
Pickett is certainly a different style of quarterback than Smith and will bring things to the team that could perhaps provide a spark this Raiders offense greatly needs. One thing that’s for sure is that Carroll believes in him, and with little else to play for this season, it may not hurt for the Raiders to get a better look.
Barstool Sports founder melts down at Raiders’ meaningless late field goal ruining his bet
The Raiders lost to the Broncos 24-17 as head coach Pete Carroll surprisingly chose to kick a field goal as time ran out to get to the final margin, even though they had no chance to win. But that decision allowed the Raiders to cover their 8.5 point spread, much to the dismay of Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who had a complete meltdown online.
