2025 Season Kickoff Take
Welcome to the 2025 season my friends. If you're still here, you have my gratitude for helping me keep the lights on. I may be losing steam, but I'm still in the ring.
Now on to business. If I told you that one week before the start of the regular season that the Raiders were dealing with a disgruntled #1 wide receiver; just lost their backup quarterback for two months; and today added two castoffs from the Cleveland Browns, you might have thought it was 2023, or 2020, or 2015, or 2012, or 2008.
But no, it's 2025, and time is officially a flat circle.
However...that's not the whole story. There's hope in the air. An electrifying top draft pick. The league's best young TE back for a sophomore campaign. The best QB since Carr (and hopefully better). And the most grownup coach in a long time.
Help me out here. Where do we stand, what's your take, and how will this play out? Let's get the conversation started. GO RAIDERS!!!
posted by Raider Take at 7:58 PM
37 Comments:
I posted some of this on the last take:
Raiders trade a 5th round comp in next draft for Kenny Picket from Browns. They also signed Amari Cooper to a one year deal while Jakobi Meyers asked to be traded.
Raider Nate! Love how you're already in the house 10 minutes after I posted this. Sounds like we're on the same wavelength, too
I will say, Pickett for a 5th rounder could prove to be a shrewd move.
My unofficial take for the 2025 season (before it starts) is that the Raiders are not a serious team, at least right now. IMO, they continue to hedge between being serious in 2025 and getting their house in order for 2026-27 (or perhaps post-Carroll).
The evidence is everywhere but started (for me) with the dismantling of their defense. For every Raiders defender who ascended to his career peak over the past two years, they were more or less shown the door and replaced with lesser talent. It's not a short list.
They let both starting CBs go and have yet to replace them. Porter got schooled in embarrassing fashion against Cardinals 2nd team in the last game. It's trial by fire at too many positions.
You can't make up the debacle of their interior D line. That's classic Raiders, old school dysfunction. Bet they wished they kept Jenkins now.
Now their WR1 is requesting a trade. The same guy who publicly said a few short weeks ago that he wanted to remain a Raider. The Raiders clearly dropped that ball.
Sure, they signed Cooper, but that's only good if Meyers stays (and still wants to be a Raider). Let's not forget why Cooper became expendable during his first Raiders stint. He disappeared from view for weeks at a time and occasionally experienced untimely drops.
I want the Raiders to win. I think the Raiders want to win. But, huh? I don't understand their intentions.
As I said in a previous post, from a perspective of unknowing, either the Raiders new brass is clever to the point of genius, or we might later find them to be as incompetent as every regime that's preceded them. I'm rooting for the former but nervous it might be the latter.
PS, how ironic that the Raiders traded a 5th rounder for Kenny Pickett when they could have had Sanders for a late 4th rounder. IDK, I think the Browns won that exchange, but I guess the jury is still out.
I hear you on Pickett and Sanders, my thought is that, right now, with AOC suddenly down, getting Pickett slotted in for a 5th rounder is probably the best we could do to solve the issue this late in the game.
Anyone seen Laki Tasi play and read his story (rugby player turned football). He got cut I sure hope clears waivers and makes it on to the practice squad. He looked beastly and is a good story. The offense looks solid pending the performance of the oline. Geno is the real deal. The defense is atrocious outside of Max and Chin. However I was not in favor of paying big bucks to Moehgrig or Hobbs. They are above average players but not stars and the team is not ready to compete now anyway. Sandy
Sandy, I would say the team is not ready to compete by their own doing. It's not just Moehrig and Hobbs, it's the entire defense. They re-signed Crosby because not re-signing him would have been a death wish for public relations and for the locker room.
The Raiders intentionally dropped all their veteran talent and kept young players still on rookie contracts and signed a few second-tier free agents. If it's ugly now on paper, wait 'til the season starts.
But it's not just defense. Look at what's happening now, right before the season, pushing Meyers out the door. They knew they had to renew his deal months ago, and Meyers was all-in (probably get him at a bargain!). But they allowed his obvious extension to fester unnecessarily to the 11th hour. Now the Raiders can say goodbye to their best WR. Cooper isn't as good as Meyers. No way! And Cooper hasn't been working with the offense all year. Meyers has.
IMO, it's ugly. As I said before, I'm a big fan of Pete Carroll. He's been successful everywhere he's been. Then again, he's never been the Raiders coach before. This might be bigger than Carroll.
https://youtube.com/shorts/RfhhjtS5iwQ?si=kzOhp8dyzilvlbjR
here is a nice clip of Kenny speaking about training with Geno during the off season, It would lend us to believe that Geno would have some good insight on if he would be a good backup.
also to touch on the point that we are pushing JM out the door,,, this is a tactic that players have been using this off season with some success the DE from the Browns and the Bengals also MP from the cowboys all have requested trades and have even said that they wouldn't play and it wasn't about money which clearly its always about money.
Its hard to bag a organization when you don't even know what's been offered.
lets watch the pats game and see what kinda game planning we can expect.
There's a much bigger story here. The Raiders entire predicate for this offseason looks disingenuous. They hired the great Pete Carroll and told us they would build a winner around a foundation of core talent. (Maybe I dreamed that.)
Instead they dumped their core of vet talent and replaced them rookies and other youth and inexperience. Was that really the plan all along?
I wonder if they told Maxx Crosby before he re-signed, or Patrick Graham before they dismantled his defense.
Spillane, Epps, Jones, Bennett, Hobbs, Moehrig, Wilkins, Jenkins, etc., and now Meyers. All expendable!
The scorched earth approach taken by the Raiders might be more palatable under a coach like Ben Johnson, but it's a real headscratcher under coach Pete Carroll at age 74.
Essentially, they've taken a five-year approach with a three-year head coach.
Look how far Gruden got only four years into his 10-year deal. Not very far.
I don't want to be such a sceptic, but the math doesn't work. I was hoping for something more immediate. I think we all were.
NY, man I love your passion you're fired up. I'm going to ask you a simple question are the Raiders going to be better this year than last I would say for sure that should be enough to lift your spirits for the moment. Sandy
Some strange cuts for the Raiders to get to the 53 man roster: Cam Miller, who I think has a lot of upside was one of them. Sam Webb was another. Sincere McCormick who I thought was better than White. Andre Carter II who also had some stellar moments in preseason.
With that said, there are some intriguing players who have been cut from other teams that could help the Raiders, and wouldn't hurt to kick the wheels on.
Utility OL Jalen McKenzie was cut by the Dolphins. He is Reggie McKenzie's son, and is 26. I think he'd be good for practice squad this season, and get him up on the speed of the game. He did awesome at USC.
Patriots cut DT Kyle Peko, who was with the Lions last season; but that seems to be more injury related.
Chargers cut QB Taylor Heinicke, who I think would also compete for backup QB. Lions cut QB Hendon Hooker
Packers cut OL Zack Bailey
Falcons cut CB Cobee Bryant
Cowboys cut OT La'el Collins
Bears cut CB Tre Flowers
I think these guys are quality players, and wouldn't hurt for the Raiders to try them out and fill some holes and depth.
It is surprising to me that AOC made the 53 man roster, I thought for sure he'd head to the IR. They currently have 5 CBs, 4 safeties, 6 DTs, and 6 LBs.
Sandy, Raiders won 4 games last year, two at the end of the season when it hurt them more than helped them due to draft slotting. Worse, Mark Davis was thrilled to win those games. Huh? The Raiders have been as dumb as it gets, from ownership down.
There's nowhere to go but up! Does that make me feel better? Meh.
Offense looks decent. Geno Smith will probably carry a couple games on his own. My bigger concern is the defense, where most of the carnage took place... unnecessarily. Some of the key defenders who left actually signed reasonable contracts, some even one-year deals.
The thing with Meyers (who's clearly their best WR) is emblematic of what we saw this offseason.
Put it this way, you or I could assemble a team of rookies and 2nd/3rd teamers. The Raiders don't need professional management for that. Signing a few of their key holdover players (which they had months to contemplate), even as stopgaps, would have been artful and something we could all bank on for this upcoming season.
So instead, we saw Lucy pull the ball away right before the kick.
I'd offer this too. Based on a clear pattern of events, the Raiders were looking for any excuse they could find to remove Wilkins. That much has become obvious, IMO.
Signing Pickett and retaining AOC on the roster makes no sense to me. AOC should have been designated to IR. His preseason was awful. And Pickett was barely worth trading for, IMO. Raiders drafted two QBs. Miller needs work, but does it honestly matter who plays QB2 if Smith goes down? I say, no! Pickett is nobody. They could have signed a half dozen QBs who were just as good and just placed on waivers. I'd rather see the Raiders bring in someone with more upside (or just keep Miller as QB2).
Instead, we keep 3 QBs on the initial 53-man roster and one is immediately headed to IR with return designation... that's a waste of resources.
Actually, I think the Pickett trade was amazing. He played with the 1st string in pre-season, and competed for the starting job with Flacco in Cleveland. Most Cleveland writers thought the Pickett performed better than Flacco, and think that retaining Flacco at QB was a "safe move."
I do not think this is our final 53 man roster either. I think the Raiders continue to make moves leading up to Week 1. I think they are after DB/CB, maybe some more depth on O-Line (which they maintained 4), and another WR if they decide to part with Jakobi. As of right now, they said they are not trading him, and he is under contract for good money.
Raiders release Practice Squad signings:
Good news Cam Miller and Greedy Vance are on the Practice Squad, even though I thought they both did enough to earn roster spot. Other notables: Chris Collier (RB), Shedrick Jackson (WR, Bo Jackson's nephew), Laki Tasi (OL, who I thought should have made roster as well).
The Raiders claimed LB Brennan Jackson off waivers from the Rams, so this now makes 7 LBs.
Other notable signings around the league so far:
Hendon Hooker signed to Carolina's practice squad, and DT Jordan Jefferson claimed off waivers by the 49ers from Jacksonville. Both guys I thought we should "kick the tires" on.
By the Way, thanks for keeping the lights on Take! I know we have had our rough stretches since being on the site; but man it has to turn around right?
Its funny, I don't think I'm as invested as I have been in the past; but yet I'm still on here quite a bit just to chat. Much love to everyone on here.
Major life update:
My son is being recruited by 12 colleges and universities to be a pitcher as he enters his Senior Year of high school. Well deserved! Watch for the name Caleb Ingle in the near future.
My daughter has started her sophomore year at Texas Tech, majoring in History with education. She is thinking about making a change. Keeping History as her major, but for the purpose of pre-law; and minoring in Arabic as a language (which she would just need 2 more classes for that). Super proud of her as she made the Dean's List her first year in college. Big futures for both my kiddos and couldn't be more proud of their accomplishments, and the road the Lord has them on.
Hope you all are doing well in your lives.
Thanks to all of you for bringing the ENERGY right now after this site hibernated during the offseason (and preseason), it's motivating and inspiring that you all stick around and continue share a mutual passion for the Raiders that binds us together as a truly unique community of fans.
Raider Nate, love the family update, sounds like you have a pair of dynamo kids, God is good!
Nate, Pickett was "amazing?" Think about that. Pickett was competing on a Browns team which had as many as six QBs go through their camp and preseason, none of which is starter caliber (this year!), and they end up with grandpa Flacco. Needing QB1 and QB2 they dump Pickett for a 5th rounder next year.
And you wonder, how did we get so lucky?
Do you find it odd that the Raiders didn't lose a single player off waivers? Has that ever happened before? Even Gruden lost 1-2, and his drafts were horrible.
Listen, it all sounds like business as usual for the Raiders... which is what has me scared. With every new regime comes a dismantling, followed by failure, then another regime. So far, I'm not seeing what separates this regime from others, except the Pere Carroll factor. But IMO Carroll had one foot out the door before the ink dried on his 3-year contract. There's no renewal in the works. He'll be 77. Sounds simple, perhaps even hyperbolic, but I stand behind my other posts which spell out my thoughts on this roster. The defense is a mess! And leaving Meyers out to dry less than 2 weeks before the season opener is incredibly bad!
NY, I think its great they got him as a backup for less than nothing. He was competing to start for the Browns this year. Flacco did not beat him out by much. Browns lose this because they are not confident in Sanders or Dillon. Now they have no quality "backup".
Also, Tommy Melliot has not signed to be on Raiders Practice Squad, which may indicate he is signing somewhere else.
Raiders beat writers are announcing that Thayer Munford Jr has been waived, and have signed a new OT; but do not know who yet.
IDK, why would the Browns trade Pickett for, as you said, "less than nothing" if he was a viable backup for them? I don't see it. Are the Browns also conceding 2025?
Honestly, the Raiders have so many holes, discussing their backup QB is like reading the team its last rights.
Can anyone name a free agent signing by the Raiders that they're really excited about? Let's agree Geno Smith might be the exception.
Darnay Holmes?
Raheem Mostert?
Elandan Roberts?
Eric Stokes?
Devin White?
How about Jeremy Chinn?
In each case, the Raiders gave up a better player and signed these guys.
How did that improve the team?
JPJ looked like a monster in the making at center last year, so much so they released James. Suddenly, JPJ can't play center, and he's competing at guard with a Bengals castoff. What's up with that?
The Raiders kept 6 LBs. Huh? Why? None of them can cover a TE, except maybe Adams who's a former safety.
They kept 6 DTs, including two rookies. Except for Butler, none have significant experience. That's scary.
Personally, I don't think Tyree Wilson will (can) step up. He will never reach the level of Carter on the Eagles, who is truly a monster and who the Raiders had at their fingertips.
Sorry. I just can't get excited about adding Kenny Pickett. I was fine with Cam Miller... or Daffy Duck.
NY ,…. Mate you need a beer, Kenny is a good pick up his pro record is 15-10 which is a respectable .667 win percentage and the fact the can keep the same scheme as Geno is a plus. Losing the plot over the fact that we didn’t lose players we cut is kinda funny (we lost mr McCormick) and we haven’t pushed Jacobi out. He is still practicing and by all accounts will be playing under his current contract, now if he leaves after the season they could recoup a comp pick, that’s how the good teams do it now. Now I liked Spillian and was sorry to see him go but Roberts has fallen nicely into his spot.
Sandy I definitely think we win more this year than last year.
Mr Take you sir are a bloody legend! Thanks for keeping this going for so many years!
And NY I appreciate you too! Keep the passion and don’t let the past eat at you, I think good times are coming for the Nation!
Cheers
Aussie, no matter what we call it, cut, waived, released, traded or just allowed to seek employment elsewhere, there's no denying the Raiders have made a concerted effort to rid the team of its best players. That's usually not a recipe for success.
Like so many regimes before them, this one has chosen not to build around a core of players that existed. Sure, that's their prerogative but as you watch this play out, maybe ask yourself, what makes Spytek better than all his Raiders predecessors who used the same formula, and better than 31 other NFL teams?
Raiders have plenty of cap space, maybe too much. Jakobi Meyers is in his prime. He wants (wanted) to be a Raider. But the Raiders would rather collect a compensatory late 3rd or 4th round pick instead.
Huh?
I think we are desensitized to losing. It's now part of the Raiders DNA. We're discussing if the Raiders will be better than the 4 wins they posted last year and we're hedging, maybe.
2025 is clearly not the year. So what's the expectation for this team? How many years to paydirt, and will Pete Carroll still be the HC when it happens?
Here's a story we can expect to hear more about. Bennett was the Eagles highest rated CB in preseason according to PFF.
▫️ 86.2 PFF coverage grade
▫️ 8 targets
▫️ 5 catches allowed
▫️ 37 passing yards allowed
▫️ 2 PBUs
▫️ 73.4 passer rating allowed
By their choice, the Raiders have nobody playing CB who's as good as Bennett.
Bennett was a baller on the Raiders. Now he's already a standout CB on a superior Eagles defense. If I remember correctly, the knock on him out of college was he was too handsy (subject to PI penalties). Dude is extremely athletic and like flypaper on WRs.
Unfortunately, his trade is emblematic of the intentional and inexplicable disintegration of the Raiders 2025 roster. To what end, we will see, but it remains highly suspect until it doesn't.
Here's the article.
https://www.raidersbeat.com/former-raiders-cb-was-eagles-highest-graded-cb/
What is the 2026 prognosis based on how this season goes? And I think a lot of that is, did you hire the right people in the most important positions, or acquire the right people in the most important positions? Pete Carroll, Geno Smith, John Spytek. Do we feel the stability? And on offense, does it feel like you've got a little bit of a runway over the next couple of years where this is gonna be a group that, with another offseason, can be the type of offense that keeps you competitive? And with the amount of money that you have to spend next year, which is about $80 million, can you do enough on defense where we feel like you can be relatively competitive by next season? If the answer to all of that stuff is yes, I think that is a successful season for the Raiders, even if they're a 6-11 team this year.
Aussie Raider, appreciate that - thanks for helping keep wind in these sails!
That all sounds reasonable, however, top level coaches and management are in a honeymoon period and will be immune to scrutiny and the kind of introspection you're referring to.
They have implemented (at their choice) a total reset of the team. Good (proven) players have been set aside and youth and inexperience have replaced them on the Raiders roster.
Maybe the better question is, how long will it take the Raiders to recover from that? What does it take to build a roster through the draft, particularly, if you're GM is shy about signing top level free agents, as it appears the new regime is.
It could be a long wait... extending beyond Pete Carroll's contract. He might only be a placeholder in this rebuild.
Again, we all saw how far Gruden got in 4 years using a similar approach. Gruden and Carroll are the only two SB winning HCs the Raiders have had outside their own organization... so Gruden's results are relevant here.
The math doesn't work...
...but we have Kenny Pickett.
The Raiders are starting anew. Everything! Across the board!
With that in mind, I don't expect much in 2025. Sadly!
Depending on how the season starts, we might soon be on the Arch Manning watch. Mannings are a legacy that just keep performing at the highest level. If John Spytek and Pete Carroll have sufficiently diminished the talent level on the Raiders roster, they might get a chance at that legacy.
Sure 8-9 or 9-8 sound like records to build off, but 1-16 is much better than 6-11 and could yield the Raiders a decade of success. Knowing that Mark Davis was thrilled to win meaningless games last year, I know that's a pipe dream.
I guess I'm just tired of losing... for decades at time.
Hello everyone !! It's time for another action packed Raiders season, OH NO ! just kidding.
I am predicting a 6 win season this year. I do not say that in a negative way. It is Carroll's first year, and Raiders are in the toughest division in the NFL. Going to take some time here as Raiders roster was a complete wreck when Spytec, & Carroll took over. Give'em some time to right the wrongs.
BREAKING NEWS.....Seems Micah Parsons traded to the Packers for 2 first rounders !!
NY,
We are all tired of the Raiders losing, but throwing a season just on the off chance a stellar kid may decide to come out in next years draft is pure fantasy, and would disgust me more than flat out just getting my butt handed to me because the other guy is better. Plus I think this is why Jerry Jones it starting to stockpile first round picks by trading away talent.
Not to continue or start anything but JB has put up the numbers against #2 and #3 QB’s you would expect really good numbers especially if he is considered a #1 cb. So we will have to wait and see how the season unfolds, with all honesty I hope JB does well, as I hope Booker does well for us. This is new territory and I do have high expectations for the offense, with Chip Kelly as orchestrater I would like to see something modern and confusing!
Kicking the ol tires on Cooper, don’t hate it.
I really think the cowboys are living the nightmare that Raiders fans lived in the early 2000 when Al started grasping for the last hurrah.
Aussie, I appreciate that perspective. I don't want the Raiders to throw a season for Arch Manning. But I also wasn't happy they won two completely meaningless games to end last season (they could have had, say, Travis Hunter).
RE: Bennett, my perspective of him comes from watching him play for the Raiders. He's a baller and I believe it was a mistake to let him go. This is a defining moment for Spytek, IMO. Thomas needs to step up or the Raiders will have made yet another unforced error!
RE: Jerry Jones, I totally agree. However, two #1s for Micah Parsons wasn't terrible. Parsons has had recurring back issues. I would elevate that above the shoulder surgery Bennett had, which seems to be fine now. The back is a funny thing. Two #1 draft picks is crazy compensation for non-QB. But the Packers must think they are that close... maybe they are.
What I hate about the Parsons' trade is the compensation that the Cowboys received is what Gruden should have received for Mack. Grrrrr.
My prediction for the season is 6 or 7 wins. I'm not sold on the DBs, and am unsure what kind of pressure the defense can get on the QB. I know Carroll likes to blitz with LB, which is why he may have 7 on the 53. We didn't see their game plan in the preseason, and tackling in the secondary and the run defense looked terrible. I can only hope that was just due to vanilla defensive calls in preseason so nobody got hurt on the 1st team.
My other concern is the Offensive Line. They looked lost in preseason, and gave up a lot of sacks and a lot of tackles behind scrimmage line. However, if both our run defense and O-Line balls out; we will win more than 7 and will compete for the division. I'm optimistic with this regime; but am still of the mentality to:
JUST PROVE IT, BABY!
What good players have they given up Spillane morrig and Hobbs were solid they weren't pro bowlers. They certainly weren't worth tying up that kind of cap money given how bad the defense was last year Sandy
Sandy, it's much more than that. They totally dismantled the defense. Raiders had (have!) plenty of cap space. That's not an issue. They let better players go and sign one-year deals with other teams.
Frankly, they went from having "not pro bowlers" to having "not starters."
They literally have nobody playing CB (that includes slot too), and their safeties are suspect. They cleverly ridded themselves of Wilkins and plan to replace him with, well, anybody with a pulse.
I'm just not seeing what you're seeing. Honestly, I feel like I'm the only one seeing the urgency here, in that Carroll was brought in to win now. What's the Raiders strategy if Carroll can't win a SB in three years? That's the entirety of Carroll's contract (and role) with the Raiders.
Sorry, but this was never a long-term plan. Now it doesn't look like a short-term plan either.
Let's see:
6 wins this year
8-9 wins next year
11 wins and a playoff berth Year 3.
Exit Carroll
That's probably best case. And that's okay?!
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