Where to Be Skeptical of Raiders' Free Agency Class

The Las Vegas Raiders brought in a solid free agent class. There is plenty to be skeptical of, however, and one NFL analyst highlights it.

Nov 17, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Elandon Roberts (50) reacts after stopping the Baltimore Ravens on a two point conversion attempt during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders, by all means, didn't drop the ball this offseason when it came to free agency.

By trading for quarterback Geno Smith, they secured a proven starter who is capable of leading head coach Pete Carroll's turnaround for the Raiders offensively. It allowed them to look forward to the draft without the cloud of drafting a quarterback weighing on them, too. The door is open to land Ashton Jeanty or Tetairoa McMillan to build the offense even further.

The issue is what they lost on defense. Both starting linebackers from 2024 -- Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo. They lost a rising name in safety Tre'von Moehrig, arguably their best defensive free agent that was on the market. A starting cornerback in Nate Hobbs, too.

That's a whole lot of snaps, and that is precisely what ESPN's Ben Solak doesn't like about the Raiders' free agency moves.

"The amount of defensive snaps lost. I can talk myself into a lot of the Raiders' defensive personnel shifts in a vacuum," wrote Solak. "I like Roberts as a cheap replacement for Spillane. Moehrig is a solid player, but they didn't need to pay him $17 million per year like the Panthers will. The light bulb might be coming on for Chinn. It's the total weight of the lost snaps that worries me.

"In the departures of Spillane, Hobbs, Moehrig, pass rusher K'Lavon Chaisson and linebacker Divine Deablo, the Raiders lost 3,949 defensive snaps from last season. Throw in the departure of safety Marcus Epps, who missed almost all of 2024 with an injury, and they're losing another 1,031 snaps from 2023. It's just really hard to lose that many reps and keep a defense afloat, even if they made shrewd moves and drafted well behind the departures. The newness leads to communication errors and uncertainty."

Solak was kind to the Raiders overall, ranking them eighth-best on his ranking of all 32 teams' free agent classes. For Solak, the Smith trade put the Raiders over the top.

"The Smith trade. Without this acquisition, the Raiders would have gotten an average grade from me," he wrote. "They had some good moves (the Maxx Crosby extension, the one-year deal for Koonce and gambles on Chinn and linebacker Elandon Roberts) and some tough departures on defense (linebacker Robert Spillane, corner Nate Hobbs and safety Tre'von Moehrig were all impactful)."

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