It was a disappointing season for the Las Vegas Raiders as they finished 4-13, which is tied for the second-worst record in the NFL. There are many things the team will need to do this offseason and general manager Tom Telesco is getting off to a quick start.
In their first roster move since the season ended, the Raiders are signing offensive tackle Dalton Wagner, per his agent Brett Tessler. Las Vegas fans should be familiar with Wagner’s name as he’s been around the team for the last two seasons.
He originally was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2023 but has yet to play in a regular season game. He spent all of the 2023 season injured and then spent this season on the practice squad. The former Arkansas standout is massive at 6-foot-8 and certainly has the size to play the position.
However, he’s not particularly athletic. He’s been able to focus on working on his game all season and the Raiders clearly see something there. Perhaps he could work his way onto the active roster next season. Good offensive linemen are hard to come by so even if Wagner could develop into a swing tackle, he’s a good find by the Raiders.
Raiders Have Many Key Free Agents
In the coming days and weeks, the Raiders will mostly figure out which young players they may want to bring back. However, they’re going to have to wait until March to know if they can bring back a number of key players.
The Raiders have several starters headed for free agency that they may want to retain. Both starting safeties Tre’von Moehrig and Marcus Epps will be free agents. Defensive end Malcolm Koonce doesn’t have a contract next season.
Starting linebackers Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo can be free agents as can cornerback Nate Hobbs and defensive tackle Adam Butler. Those are a lot of key players slated to be free agents, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
Who Should Raiders Retain?
The Raiders weren’t good this season and haven’t had a winning record since 2021. It’d be easy to understand why they’d want to move on from some expensive veterans and start rebuilding with young players. That said, some of these free agents the Raiders should work hard to keep.
Spillane might be the Raiders’ second-most important defensive player behind Maxx Crosby. He’s a leader and has proven to be one of the better linebackers in the NFL. Linebackers aren’t too expensive so he should be brought back.
Koonce is an emerging player but missed the entire season with an injury. If he can be signed to a reasonable prove-it contract, he should be re-signed. Moehrig is starting to come into his own as a very good safety but his price could be too high. If they can get him at a decent deal, he should be brought back.
Hobbs has been a very good player but is injury-prone. The Raiders can’t give him a big contract so he might be on his way out. He’d be a logical player to bring back on a one-year deal if he’d like to
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