Silver And Black Pride
Raheem Mostert, Alex Cappa, Geno Smith are important lead-by-example types in Las Vegas
At age 34 and 33, respectively, Geno Smith and Raheem Mostert are the two oldest on the Las Vegas Raiders. As such, the quarterback and running back bring over a decade of experience and knowledge as older players that’s vital for a young roster.
Smith, who has 13 NFL seasons under his belt, has seen the trials and tribulations as a pro signal caller and went from prized second-round selection by the New York Jets to castoff and to franchise quarterback with Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks.
Mostert, who has 11 years on his resume, is a classic tail of an undrafted free agent that bounced around before given the opportunity to showcase his fleet-feet with the San Francisco 49ers and then being a bell cow back for the Miami Dolphins in 2023.
As quarterback, Smith is at the helm of an offense that features big-time weapon and second-year tight end Brock Bowers — who is just 22 years old — while Mostert is part of a running back room that boasts the 2025 NFL Draft’s sixth overall pick Ashton Jeanty — who is 21 years old. With both Smith and Mostert knowing what it takes to sustain a career in the the pros, it’s imperative the rest of the Raiders soak up the tutelage and work ethic displayed by both.
“Honestly, I like the challenge,” Mostert said when asked about a leadership and mentor role as a veteran, when asked about being a veteran voice after one of the Raiders’ training camp sessions last week. “I feel like it’s a way for me to display who I am as a player and as an individual, and also to showcase my abilities as being a leader. You want to say you want to be a leader on the team, but for me, it’s all about action. This is ‘What have you done for me lately?’ That’s the mantra that’s always been around.”
We’ve already mentioned Jeanty’s age above and the rest of the running back room is young with Zamir White, Dylan Laube, and Chris Collier all 25 years old and Sincere McCormick 24. Thus, it’s abundantly clear the elder Mostert — who has defied Father Time — is the standout vet. And the neat thing for the running back room — and other Raiders — when it comes to the Purdue tailback is he’s willing to impart his knowledge.
“So if I’m able to come in in a situation like here and provide my leadership and my presence and to show everybody that, ‘Hey, look, I’m going to put in the work, you can learn from me, just ask the questions. I’m an easy going guy. I’m one of those guys that you can come up to and talk to about anything, and if you want to keep it on the hush, that’s fine with me too. I have an open door policy with...
