Raiders Round-Up: A Lateral Offseason

As the Las Vegas Raiders prepare for the 2023-2024 NFL season, we take a look back on an active offseason from our favorite group of rabble rousers. 

 

It all started on Valentine’s Day, when we broke up with our long term boyfriend, quarterback Derek Carr. Derek is a great guy, and while we will look back fondly on the last nine years, he was just never gonna be the type of guy to “put a ring on it.” Sure, he may take you on a January trip to Houston or Cincinnati, but come February? You’re sitting on the couch at home, watching a Harry Potter marathon, again. 

 

And while it’s good to move on when we aren’t going to get what we want out of the relationship, that’s not the problem. The problem is that the Raiders decided our rebound guy is gonna be…Jimmy Garoppolo. 

 

On paper, Garoppolo might seem like an upgrade. He’s been to three Super Bowls and won two. However, he was a backup quarterback for both of those championships, and when he was finally at the helm, his Niners squandered a 10 point lead with seven minutes left to lose to *sigh* Patrick Mahomes. Garoppolo has a history of injuries and making some questionable decisions in big moments, so it seems like the Raiders made the ultimate lateral move in picking up another good, not great, quarterback. Anybody else getting Ross-Russ vibes from this move? 

 

Speaking of moving on from people we once loved, we traded our promising TE, Darren Waller, to the Giants in exchange for a third round pick. If he can stay healthy, New York definitely got the better end of the deal. But he broke our hearts every time he broke his body. He missed almost half of the last two seasons with nagging injuries. It seems like the Raiders had given up on ever having a healthy Waller again. To their credit, the Raiders did a good job filling the TE position, by signing 2X Pro Bowler, Austin Hooper, and trading up in the second round to grab Michael Mayer out of Notre Dame.

 

Outside of those two major moves, Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler have done their best to try to make us the Las Vegas Patriots, by adding ex-Pat QB Brian Hoyer and WR Jakobi Meyers. Rumor has it that by next week, Teddy Bruschi will be our middle linebacker, and the stadium will be renamed The Dunkin’ Donuts Dome. 

 

They also tried to plug up a very porous secondary by drafting CB Jakorian Bennett, S Christopher Smith II, and signing CB Marcus Peters, which was their most important move of the offseason. A veteran presence at a weak position is exactly what the Raiders need if they want to elevate their current talent and help attract future free agents to the position. 

 

The only bright spot for the Raiders’ defense, the defensive line, was also bolstered by first round draft pick, Tyree Wilson. If Wilson is the player the Raiders think he is, it should result in the entire defensive line seeing an uptick in production, especially Maxx Crosby. Offensive lines aren’t going to be able to “cheat” to Maxx’s side if there's another bull rushing at them on the opposite end.  Expect to see a lot of sacks from the front four this season.  

 

Despite the active offseason, the Raiders remained stagnant with their offensive line and running back. Outside of pre-snap penalty issues, the line was very solid and RB Josh Jacobs was an absolute beast. The Raiders placed the franchise tag on Jacobs, who likely will see his production slide a bit from last season, but is still a major threat to bust a long run on any given down.

 

At the time this article was written, the Raiders had played one preseason game, a 34-7 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. While there’s only so much one can learn from exhibition games, it was great to see 4th round draft pick, Aiden O’Connell, have a huge day. O’Connell is currently expected to be the third string quarterback behind Garoppolo and Hoyer, but if he continues to play with this sort of efficiency, he could easily move up on the bench. 

 

So what can we expect from the Raiders this season? It really comes down to key players staying healthy. Two years ago, Las Vegas made the playoffs and were one play away from defeating the eventual AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals. Last year, a very similar roster caught the injury bug and finished 6-11. If the stars align, then this can be a playoff team once again. However, a mediocre 9-8 season would be seen as a step in the right direction, and that’s most likely where they will end up. 

 

WAY TOO EARLY PREDICTION: Raiders finish 9-8 and just miss the playoffs. 

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