Last year, the Raiders offensive line was viewed as a major weakness, forcing Las Vegas to shuffle the depth chart until they found a workable solution. Oddly enough, though, by the end of the season, the team found a reliable starting five and some dependable reserves that didn’t blow anybody away but routinely got the job done. With the position no longer a weakness, Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal posits that the Raiders may not have much urgency in addressing the position before next season.
Returning a likely starting five of Kolton Miller at left tackle, Dylan Parham at left guard, Andre James at center, Alex Bars at right guard, and Jermaine Eluemunor at right tackle, the Raiders don’t necessarily have any holes in the offensive line. Bonsignore asserts that the team still may look for potential upgrades from younger reserve linemen pushing for playing time or potential outside additions, if they present themselves, but right now, the team’s roster may be set after the recent additions of free agentGreg Van Roten and undrafted rookiesMcClendon Curtis and Dalton Wagner.
Here are a few other rumors from around the AFC:
The Bills made a number of moves within their scouting department this offseason. Formerly the team’s pro personnel director, Malik Boyd has been named senior personnel advisor in Buffalo. The former Vikings defensive back and veteran scout with personnel experience for the Colts and Cardinals will work as an executive scout in both pro and college mediums. Additionally, Chris Marrow and Curtis Rukavina have both been named co-directors of pro scouting. The two remain entwined after joining the team as pro scouts in 2017 and both working as assistant directors of pro scouting until their recent promotions.
With a new general manager in Ran Carthon, the Titans, too, have begun to make some front office adjustments, according to Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com. Max Curtis has been named as the team’s new player personnel coordinator, being from promoted from dual roles last year as coordinator of football administration and executive assistant to the executive vice president and general manager. Bryce Wasserman will now be the Titans’ director of team strategy after serving last year as staff counsel. Lastly, a football development coordinator last year, John Streicher will now be in the role of director of football administration.
Finally, the Steelershave poached a scout from the in-state Eagles, according to Colin Dunlap of 93.7 The Fan, Pittsburgh. After five years as an area scout for Philadelphia, Jim Ward will cross the state to serve a similar role in Pittsburgh.
The Raiders have made their first addition of the offseason along the interior of their offensive line. The team announced on Friday that they have signed veteran guardGreg Van Roten.
Las Vegas will represent Van Roten’s fifth career team, after he spent time with the Packers, Panthers, Jets and Bills. Overall, his 93 appearances in the NFL have included 54 career starts, and he has seen at least some first-team work in every season since 2017. He saw time at center in 2022 with Buffalo, but the majority of his time has been spent at either left or right guard.
The 33-year-old had a run of 23 starts in two seasons with the Jets, but was released last offseason. That led him to sign with the Bills in June, where he served in a backup capacity aside from four starts at center. His time there resulted in a career-worst PFF grade of 57.6, a notable drop from his consistent (if unspectacular) ratings for much of the rest of his career. Usage at guard could help lead to a return to form with the Raiders.
Van Roten represents an expected addition for the Raiders, a team which had only re-signed in-house linemen to date. They also elected not to use any draft capital at the position, despite the unit’s inconsistent play last season. Prior to today, right guard Alex Barswas set to face competition from Jermaine Eluemunor and Netane Mutifor playing time at the RG spot; all three signed new deals with Vegas this offseason.
Now, however, Van Roten could compete for a starting role, given Bars’ struggles in 2022. Having that pair atop the depth chart in one order or another could also give the team more depth at right tackle, particularly if Eluemunor were to primarily play on the outside. If Van Roten were to be able to earn the starting job, he could line himself up for another, more lucrative deal next offseason on the open market.
Shortly after the Raiders’ plan to separate from Derek Carr surfaced, Davante Adams indicated he was not planning to make an effort to follow his ex-college teammate out the door. Adams is signed through 2026 on what is still the NFL’s second-most lucrative receiver deal. The Raiders have made some changes this offseason, most notably replacing Carr with Jimmy Garoppolo. Adams made some cryptic comments about the franchise’s direction this week.
“[The front office] thinks this is the best bet for us right now to put us in a position to be urgent,” Adams said regarding the team’s offensive vision, via The Ringer’s Mirin Fader. “We don’t see eye-to-eye on what we think is best for us right now. … I’m going to have to buy into this and try to be as optimistic as possible. It’s not what I expected to happen, but it’s something that’s the reality now.”
Rumored to be potentially kept in the loop regarding the Raiders’ big-picture decisions, Adams expressed hesitancy regarding his fit with Garoppolo. The veteran quarterback is tied to the Raiders through at least 2023, due to his $33.75MM guarantee, and may well be a multiyear Las Vegas starter, seeing as the team did not draft a quarterback.
“It all depends on the style of ball that we play,” Adams said. “If we play a certain brand of ball, I can get [Garoppolo] to conform to whatever. But if we use him a certain type of way, then it’s going to make it tough for us to maximize who we should be this year.”
For what it’s worth, Adams shared a photo with GM Dave Ziegler after that interview surfaced. Adams, who will turn 31 later this year, earned his third straight first-team All-Pro honor last season. He will team with Josh Jacobs, Hunter Renfrow and UFA addition Jakobi Meyers as Garoppolo’s lead supporting cast. Here is the latest out of Vegas:
While Ziegler and Josh McDaniels signed off on Renfrow’s two-year, $32MM extension during the 2022 offseason, the veteran slot player delivered underwhelming early returns in McDaniels’ system. After Renfrow’s 1,038-yard 2021 showing helped drive the Raiders into the playoffs, he managed just 330 in 10 games last year. Since giving Renfrow that extension, the Raiders have signed Meyers to an $11MM-per-year deal and drafted slot target Tre Tucker in Round 3. Pegging the odds of Renfrow being elsewhere by 2024 as “90%,” The Athletic’s Vic Tafur notes he joined Darren Waller in being a poor fit for McDaniels’ offense (subscription required). McDaniels also cut down on Renfrow’s route improvisations, which were encouraged under Jon Gruden. Trading Renfrow in 2024 (when his base salary spikes to $11.2MM) would save the Raiders $8MM.
The Raiders have surprisingly made it to mid-May without adding a starter-caliber outside free agent on their offensive line. That might not be the case by training camp. Citing the team’s potential to add a veteran guard or tackle, Tafur adds he would be “shocked” if Alex Bars remained the team’s right guard starter. Pro Football Focus rated Bars, a former Bears UDFA, as the Raiders’ worst starting O-lineman by a wide margin last season. Guard Dalton Risner remains unsigned, as do Rodger Saffold, Pat Elflein, A.J. Cann and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. Longtime Raider Gabe Jackson, whom Gruden traded to the Seahawks in 2021, is also available. The Raiders also showed interest in Paris Johnson, per Tafur. Although the Cardinals discussed a deal with the Raiders for the No. 7 pick, Arizona moving ahead of Vegas for No. 6 (to take Johnson) makes sense.
The team re-signed right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor but also brought back 2021 right tackle starter Brandon Parker, who missed last year with an injury. Eluemunor will also be a candidate to slide to guard, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore, after having played there in the past. That would be an internal way to upgrade from Bars. Second-year tackle Thayer Munford and Justin Herron, one of many ex-Patriots in Vegas, stand to factor in for the RT gig.
Thomas earned starts at all five positions along SMU’s offensive line. As is the norm with the current class of UDFAs entering the league, Thomas used the extra year of eligibility — granted by the NCAA during the COVID-19 pandemic — and played five seasons for the Mustangs, making starts in each.
The Buccaneers waived Cook earlier this week, doing so after giving him a reserve/futures contract in January. The Raiders are dropping Martin not long after making him part of their 10-man UDFA contingent. A transfer from Maryland, Cobbs caught 76 passes for 923 yards and five touchdowns during his year at Utah State.
Although several starter-caliber veterans remain unsigned, NFL teams have largely taken their big swings this offseason. Be it through free agency, the trade market or the draft, franchises have updated their rosters in hopes of improving in 2023.
Any conversation of 2023 improvement efforts probably needs to start with the Jets. Thanks to the Sacramento Kings’ playoff advancement, the Jets hold major North American sports’ longest postseason drought — at 12 years. After missing on a few rookie-contract QBs in the time since their last playoff run, the Jets now haveAaron Rodgers. The six nationally televised games on Gang Green’s docket illustrate Rodgers’ impact on the team’s perception, and although the four-time MVP will turn 40 before year’s end, he has made the Jets a free agency destination of sorts. The team added ex-Rodgers Packer wideouts Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, with those moves coming after the addition of safety Chuck Clark via trade.
As the Jets stands to be a factor in the one of the deepest conferences in recent memory, the Dolphins added Jalen Ramsey via trade and will pay Vic Fangio upwards of $4.5MM to run their defense. Miami will bank on Tua Tagovailoa health and showed faith in the oft-scrutinized passer by picking up his fifth-year option two months early.
Making Nathaniel Hackett just the third HC since the 1970 merger to be fired before his first season ended, the Broncos paid up — both in terms of draft capital and salary — to add Sean Payton. They also spent heavily to better protect Russell Wilson, signing Ben Powers and Mike McGlinchey. The latter will be Denver’s 11th Week 1 right tackle in 11 years. The Raiders added Tyree Wilson in Round 1, but the team’s Derek Carr-to-Jimmy Garoppolo transition injects considerably more injury risk into their equation.
Carolina stopped its QB carousel with the Young move, and Frank Reich will be tasked with developing the atypical prospect. The Panthers also lured Ejiro Evero from the Broncos, despite Denver’s interest in retaining its DC. Though, the team’s receiving situation — now featuring Adam Thielen and DJ Chark — may take multiple years to fix post-Moore. The rest of the NFC South will also include new Week 1 starting QBs. The Saints made the second-most notable veteran quarterback addition this year — in giving Carr what amounts to a three-year, $100MM deal — and will hope this brings the QB stability Drew Brees‘ retirement stripped away two years ago.
While the 49ers lost another coordinator (DeMeco Ryans) to a head coaching job, they gave new DC Steve Wilks superior D-line talent via Hargrave’s $20MM-AAV deal. With the Colts taking Richardson at No. 4, the Seahawks doubled down on the recently re-signed Geno Smith by beginning this year’s receiver run with Jaxon Smith-Njigba at No. 20. Seattle also zagged from its Pete Carroll–John Schneider M.O. by taking cornerbackDevon Witherspoonat 5. This and the Dre’Mont Jones contract headlined a big year for Seahawks defensive investments.
What other teams deserve mention here? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.
The Raiders have made four new additions to their coaching staff for the offseason, naming their Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellows. On offense, Las Vegas will be mentoring Torrey Gill. On defense, Jamie Sharper and Troy Vincent Jr. will be joining the staff. Lastly, Matt Willis was hired with a focus on special teams.
Gill is currently an offensive graduate assistant at Oregon State. He’s previously coached wide receivers at New Mexico State and Whittier College after playing the position at Itawamba Community College and NAIA Tabor College.
Sharper is former Super Bowl champion linebacker for the Ravens who spent time with the Texans and Seahawks, as well. He just finished the 2022 XFL season where he worked as the special teams coordinator and linebackers coach for the DC Defenders. He previously worked as a scouting intern for Houston before serving as linebackers and defensive line coach for Georgetown.
Vincent is the son of NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations, Troy Vincent. His career has thus far consisted mainly of roles in Georgia high school football.
Willis is a former NFL wide receiver who spent time with the Ravens, Broncos, and Lions. He’s had two other stints with the fellowship, working with the Bears in 2017 and 2018.
Here are a few other rumors from around the NFL:
The Commanders have made some minor adjustments to their offensive staff, according to Ben Standig of The Athletic. Juan Castillo, who was hired to coach tight ends despite his wealth of experience with the offensive line, has been working more with the offensive line at camp recently. They expect that he will be “toggling between the two positions” under the new title of run-game coordinator. The current assistant offensive line coach, Travelle Wharton, is expected to be promoted to offensive line coach, while Todd Storm will remove the “assistant” from his title to become tight ends coach.
Colts head coach Shane Steichen has added a new assistant to his staff, according to Mike Chappell of FOX59/CBS4 Sports. The staff now rosters Charlie Gelman, who will serve as game manager.
The first of this year’s spring leagues to debut, the XFL’s third effort, finished its season Saturday. XFL players are now free to sign NFL contracts, and several agreed to terms Monday. Here are those agreements, along with the other transactions from around the league:
After seeing the pandemic nix its second effort in 2020, the XFL concluded its season Saturday. The Broncos signed the league’s second-leading rusher, in Patrick, while the Browns and Cowboys offered Barqoo contracts, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets. Barqoo, who played for the Jaguars in 2020 and XFL’s San Antonio Brahmas this year, opted for the Steelers’ offer. Patrick, whom the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson notes passed a Broncos physical Monday, finished with 443 rushing yards and five touchdowns. He joins XFL passing leader Ben DiNucci as a Broncos May addition.
Seeing time for the St. Louis BattleHawks, Jones-Smith played in three games apiece with Raiders and Ravens, respectively, from 2020-21. Thompson will join the Dolphins after a spring tour of duty with the Seattle Sea Dragons, while fellow XFL alum Brewer played in two games for the Bills last year. Heflin played five games for the Packers in 2021; the new Saint spent the XFL season with the Houston Roughnecks.
The Raiders gave Johnson a reserve/futures deal in January. The young wideout collected a ring with the 2020 Buccaneers and totaled 360 receiving yards for Tampa Bay’s 2021 iteration. While the Texans claimed him on waivers ahead of last season, he played in just two games with the team.
Jackson suited up for national championship-winning Georgia last season. The new Titans wideout finished with 514 receiving yards in 2020 and totaled 320 for last season’s Bulldogs edition. A Division II Quincy alum, Wilson received an East-West Shrine Bowl invite but tore an Achilles tendon late last season.
Hyatt will represent youth for the Giants, who have assembled a veteran-heavy receiving nucleus. Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton, Parris Campbell and Jamison Crowder are attached to veteran contracts. Hyatt joins 2022 second-round pick Wan’Dale Robinson and waiver claim Isaiah Hodgins as the young talents in this group. After trading up 16 spots to land Hyatt, Giants will rely on him for a deep speed presence. Although he went off the board 73rd overall, Hyatt is the reigning Biletnikoff award winner.
Martin and Young are each the top outside investment either the Lions or Raiders made along their respective interior defensive lines this offseason. The Lions drafted first- and second-round D-linemen (Aidan Hutchinson, Josh Paschal) last year. The Raiders have devoted plenty to their edge-rushing contingent, using a first-round pick on Tyree Wilson after giving Maxx Crosby and Chandler Jones big-ticket deals last year, but the team has not allocated many resources to its D-tackle positions. Martin was the last of the six Day 1 or Day 2 picks the Lions made this year.
A new deal allowing Marcus Petersto remain in Baltimore could still be in the cards. The veteran corner has other options to consider, however, including a move to the Raiders.
Peters is visiting Las Vegas today, reports Vic Tafur of The Athletic (Twitter link). That news comes not long after Ravens head coach John Harbaugh confirmed Baltimore is still open to re-signing the 30-year-old at some point this offseason. The Raiders represent a logical landing spot if a new Ravens deal is not worked out, though.
Vegas saw 2022 trade acquisition Rock Ya-Sinsign with the Ravens earlier this week, giving them a potential Peters replacement. The former’s departure came after Anthony Averett‘s deal expired, leaving another vacancy at the CB spot for the Raiders; Averett remains unsigned. Both he and Ya-Sin occupied notable roles during their time with the Raiders, a team which struggled against the pass on defense last season.
That resulted in a number of free agent cornerback additions so far this offseason, including a reunion with Brandon Facyson and deals with Duke Shelley and David Long. The Raiders also used a fourth-round pick in the draft to add Jakorian Bennett, who should be in line for at least a rotational role for years to come as the team looks to rebuild on the backend. The signing of safety Marcus Eppscould go a long way on that front, but a healthy Peters likely would as well.
The two-time All-Pro has remained one of the league’s top ballhawks for much of his career, notching 32 interceptions in 104 career games. He missed all of 2021 with a torn ACL, however, and struggled upon his return to the field last season with only one pick and poor performances in coverage. If he were to return to his pre-injury form, though, a short-term deal at a modest rate could prove to be worth the risk for Vegas. As the post-draft wave of free agency continues, Peters shouldn’t have to wait much longer to sign his next deal, with the Raiders or another team.
The Raiders were busy adding some defensive line help. Brock Martin started 34 of his 62 games at Oklahoma State, compiling 145 tackles, 40 tackles for loss, and 16 sacks. Adam Plant had a career year in 2022 at UNLV, finishing with 62 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, and three forced fumbles in 11 games. George Tarlas had 25 tackles for loss and 19 sacks in 45 career games at Weber State before transferring to Boise State.
The team’s two OL additions got chunks of cash. Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets that McClendonCurtis got $210K in guaranteed money, while Doug Kyed AtoZSports tweets that Dalton Wagner got $225K in guaranteed money. Curtis earned an All-American nod at Chattanooga last year and Wagner was a two-time All-SEC selection.
Jaydon Grant is the most accomplished of the team’s UDFA additions in the secondary, with the Oregon State product compiling nine interceptions in 51 games. Azizi Hearn spent time at Arizona and Wyoming before transferring to UCLA for the 2022 campaign.
