Raiders QB Geno Smith not expected to play in finale vs Chiefs

Last Sunday, Raiders QB Geno Smith left the game against the Giants with an injured ankle. Though the prognosis for Raiders QB Geno Smith is not that of a high ankle sprain which Pete Carroll originally suspected, it still doesn't look good for him to finish the season. Smith didn't practice Wednesday and Carroll all but ruled him OUT for Sunday's season finale against the Chiefs.

"I don't think that he's going to be able to make that recovery," Carroll said of Geno Smith. "We wish that he could, and I hate closing the door on any opportunity, but it's going to be really hard for him."

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All season long it's been Kenny Pickett who has been the next man up. Pickett came in for Smith last Sunday against the Giants. And though former Raiders starter Aidan O'Connell is also available, Pickett will be the likely starter for the game.

"We're getting Kenny [Pickett] ready to go and Aidan [O'Connell] ready to go," Carroll continued. "Those guys are going to battle all week long. Kenny's been the two all season, so he's likely to be the guy that starts, but both guys will play, and I want them to kind of share the game and give them an opportunity to play."

Neither Pickett or O'Connell has shown enough with the Raiders to have earned the start. Some Raiders fans are still enamoured with O'Connell as a former draft pick of the team who won seven games over 17 starts in 2023-24. But O'Connell's complete lack of mobility has gotten him injured several times before and behind this line, it could be a scary proposition.

This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders QB Geno Smith not expected to play in finale vs Chiefs