Bring them back: Five free agents Raiders should re-sign

A time earlier helium was yet fired arsenic the Raiders’ coach, Antonio Pierce described 1 upcoming gathering arsenic “critical” to acceptable the squad connected the close way heading into the offseason.

Pierce said he, wide manager Tom Telesco (who was besides fired 4 days later) and proprietor Mark Davis indispensable beryllium down and “really look at” each the veterans whose existent contracts expired astatine the extremity of the 2024-2025 season.

“It’s got to marque dollars and consciousness for everybody, not conscionable the Raiders, but for the players arsenic well, knowing the concern broadside of that,” Pierce said. “But these gentlemen, I thought each year, played their tails off. Some are deserving of a (new) contract, and others we astir apt person to determination connected from.”

Pierce and Telesco won’t lend anymore, but those subordinate unit decisions inactive loom each spot arsenic ample arsenic the coaching and wide manager searches for their replacements presently grabbing each the attention.

Las Vegas has 27 players hitting escaped bureau astatine the commencement of the caller league twelvemonth connected March 12, including a whopping 18 who started astatine slightest 1 crippled implicit the past 2 seasons.

The new, to-be-announced coach/general manager duo, on with Davis and number proprietor Tom Brady, indispensable prime the close ones to bring backmost to acceptable the squad up for occurrence going into the 2025-2026 season.

Here are 5 escaped agents they should prioritize keeping successful metallic and black.

Edge rusher Malcolm Koonce

The Raiders added 14 players to injured reserve implicit the people of past season, but Pierce said the archetypal wounded the worst. The 26-year-old Koonce tore his ACL successful signifier 3 days earlier the Raiders’ archetypal game, and Pierce felt the defence ne'er recovered.

The erstwhile third-round prime retired of the University of Buffalo broke retired astatine the extremity of the 2023-2024 play with six sacks successful 4 games, and Pierce was convinced Koonce would beryllium adjacent amended this season. Koonce tin inactive deed his sky-high potential, and present helium tin bash it connected a cheaper woody coming disconnected an injury.

It’s a cruel world but the Raiders mightiness not person been capable to spend Koonce if helium played good this season. They mightiness person needed to walk superior elsewhere with superstar Maxx Crosby and erstwhile first-round prime Tyree Wilson already astatine Koonce’s position.

But present Koonce figures to beryllium affordable, and his upside remains intact contempt the disappointment of missing truthful overmuch time.

Edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson

Crosby has made immoderate rumblings connected his podcast The Rush that helium mightiness beryllium unhappy and looking to determination teams this offseason. If that happens, locking up Chaisson to rotate with Koonce and Wilson adjacent twelvemonth is simply a no-brainer.

Even if things are smoothed implicit with Crosby, Chaisson should inactive beryllium a campaigner to instrumentality for a 2nd play with the Raiders. A squad tin ne'er person capable competent borderline rushers successful the modern NFL, particularly a squad stuck successful the treacherous AFC West.

Chaisson showed helium tin beryllium much than that successful metallic and achromatic with 5 sacks, a forced fumble, an interception and 2 passes defended. It’s hard to judge Chaisson was considered a bust aft being taken successful the archetypal circular of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars, considering the mode helium played this season.

Las Vegas gave him a 3rd accidental and cashed in. Jacksonville declined to workout Chaisson’s fifth-year rookie enactment past twelvemonth and past Carolina chopped him retired of grooming camp.

But immoderate highly-talented players conscionable request to find the close place, and Las Vegas looks similar the close spot for Chaisson.

Linebacker Divine Deablo

Las Vegas’ apical 2 linebackers from the past 2 years, Deablo and Robert Spillane, are some acceptable to deed escaped agency.

Spillane is the much decorated subordinate arsenic helium broke retired successful Las Vegas particularly successful the 2023-2024 season, wherever helium was a squad skipper and mightiness person deserved to beryllium a Pro Bowler. But Spillane is besides much athletically constricted than Deablo, older and volition merit a larger contract.

Las Vegas needs to rebuild done youth, and locking up a 29-year-old similar Spillane—who mightiness not acceptable successful each scheme—with a multi-year woody seems unwise. The 26-year-old Deablo is conscionable hitting his prime, and his sum skills arsenic a erstwhile information astatine Virginia Tech marque him the much versatile option.

Fans whitethorn miss Spillane’s strength connected crippled day, but helium was the cleanable acceptable with Pierce and antiaircraft coordinator Patrick Graham. That mightiness not beryllium the lawsuit with the caller coaching staff.

Safety Isaiah Pola-Mao

In the Raiders’ penultimate triumph of the season, 3 years’ worthy of hard enactment with the franchise paid disconnected for Pola-Mao, who emerged arsenic the subordinate of the crippled successful a triumph implicit the Jaguars.

He became the archetypal Raider since Hall of Famer Charles Woodson 25 years agone to unit a brace of fumbles that led to takeaways successful the aforesaid game. The erstwhile undrafted escaped cause retired of USC spent overmuch of his rookie play connected the signifier squad and past played mostly peculiar teams successful his 2nd campaign.

But helium got his changeable connected defence this twelvemonth aft starting beardown information Marcus Epps tore his ACL successful Week 3. The drop-off from Epps to Pola-Mao coiled up negligible, if not nonexistent.

Between Epps, chap information Tre’von Moehrig and slot cornerback Nate Hobbs, the Raiders person 3 higher-profile antiaircraft backmost escaped agents than Pola-Mao. But some Moehrig and Hobbs discussed exploring their options and could bid a large raise.

Pola-Mao volition relationship for a overmuch smaller information of the wage cap, and could marque a bigger impact.

Guard Jordan Meredith

The Raiders’ interior violative enactment improved dramatically aboriginal successful the play erstwhile they stumbled upon the trio of Meredith astatine near guard, Jackson Powers-Johnson astatine halfway and Dylan Parham astatine close guard.

There’s nary crushed to messiness with the operation going into adjacent year. Parham inactive has a twelvemonth near connected his rookie woody portion Powers-Johnson is signed done 2027, leaving Meredith the lone question mark.

The erstwhile undrafted escaped cause Meredith had exclusively been a backup earlier this play truthful possibly the Raiders envision upgrading to idiosyncratic with stronger diversion traits. But adjacent then, Meredith could beryllium utile arsenic a inferior lineman acceptable to travel successful astatine immoderate position—especially successful the interior spots—in lawsuit of injury.

Like Chaisson and Pola-Mao, the 25-year-old Meredith is simply a promising subordinate the Raiders helped make this season. The enactment should person immoderate earthy curiosity to spot however acold they tin instrumentality him.

This communicative primitively appeared successful Las Vegas Weekly.