The Oakland Raiders signed cornerback Sean Smith last week after what was reported to be a heated competition with the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. We did not get a lot of details about the 49ers involvement, other than that they made a push.
Smith ended up choosing the Raiders, and Friday morning he was on 95.7 The Game discussing his new team. At one point he was asked about choosing the Raiders over the 49ers. He discussed what gave the Raiders the edge, saying the money, the strong coaching staff, and having a potential franchise quarterback in place all sold him on the team.
The follow-up question asked about the issue of potentially playing more snaps on a Chip Kelly-coached team. Smith said the thought crossed his mind, but he did not go into a lot more detail.
Here is the transcript, courtesy of Levi Damien from Silver and Black Pride.
Was it close with 49ers? Why did you choose Raiders?
"It definitely was close. Well, first I'd like to thank my agent, David Canter. He did a tremendous job. I actually was on his tail all night. We were literally up until like 2'oclock, 3'oclock in the morning trying to get this deal finalized. I think in the end the numbers thing was a part of it and the Oakland Raiders have such an amazing coaching staff with Marcus Robertson and Rod Woodson in the secondary, I thought that would be big for myself and the rest of the secondary moving forward."
Did number of snaps defenders have to play on Chip Kelly coached teams factor in at all?
"That definitely crossed my mind. No defender wants to be out there forever. Playing against Oakland and that offense, first of all they're young and they're explosive and I think that's something that's going to help this team to get a long way. When we talk about playoffs and championships and things of that nature. You definitely need a quarterback that has stability in that position, first and foremost. And I believe Carr is that guy."