The NFL preseason is finally underway, following the Los Angeles Chargers’ victory in 2025’s Hall of Fame Game. All 32 teams are in action, with question marks over which teams will be fielding their stars.
The preseason signals the welcome return of pro football action for NFL fans, but the league’s top talents are usually limited to minimal reps, if any. The Las Vegas Raiders will play the Seattle Seahawks on August 7, Â in head coach Pete Carroll’s first game since leaving his former team after the 2023 season.
But will Carroll be fielding his starters against the Seahawks?
Will Geno Smith, Maxx Crosby, and Brock Bowers Feature For the Raiders in Preseason Week 1?
Carroll returns to the city he called home for 14 memorable years, during which he led the Seahawks to the franchise’s lone Super Bowl win at the end of the 2013 season. The legendary coach could be forgiven for feeling sentimental about the matchup, but there was no sign of that when he faced the media.
“It’s the only game we’ve got; it just happens to be in Seattle,” he said when asked about his feelings about returning to Lumen Field. He then clarified that he has fond memories of his time in Seattle, but the Raiders coach was strictly business regarding the game.
Asked if he would be playing his starters in the game, Carroll suggested that everybody on his team would be involved:
“Everybody’s alive; everybody’s ready to go.”
That should excite Raiders fans, who have a new quarterback to root for in former Seahawk Geno Smith and an exciting new running back in Ashton Jeanty. Smith enjoyed a career resurrection under Carroll in Seattle, taking over the starting job after Russell Wilson’s departure.
Jeanty, meanwhile, was arguably the most exciting offensive player in the 2025 draft class, after coming second in Heisman Trophy voting behind hybrid playmaker Travis Hunter. The Raiders drafted Jeanty with the sixth overall pick, and he projects to be one of the faces of the franchise alongside Brock Bowers and Maxx Crosby.
The game with Seattle could be one-sided early on, as Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald has stated that his starters won’t be playing. Macdonald’s team has several exciting new faces, including Sam Darnold, who has replaced Smith as the team’s starting quarterback.
Exciting rookies like Nick Emmanwori and Elijah Arroyo will be exceptions, meaning Jalen Milroe, the explosive mobile quarterback out of Alabama, will feature heavily. Milroe will be one of the most exciting players to watch, given his freak athleticism, which wouldn’t look out of place at receiver or running back.
