The Las Vegas Raiders appear set on having Jackson Powers-Johnson as their center of the future. Andre James was the starter for the past four seasons but was benched in favor of the rookie last season.
The Raiders decided to move on from James this offseason. Luckily for him, he wasn’t in free agency for long. The Los Angeles Chargers signed the veteran to a three-year, $24 million contract.
Based on that money, it would be fair to assume that he’ll be the Chargers’ starting center in 2025. That’s a good contract for a player who played poorly in 2024. Pro Football Focus had him ranked as the 46th-best center in the NFL last season.
James has mostly been an average center but took a step back last season. The Raiders move on from him for a reason. Time will tell if the Chargers were wise to give him a solid contract in free agency.
Insider Talks Raiders OL
The Raiders offensive line doesn’t appear like it will be undergoing major changes this offseason. The only notable addition the team made was offensive guard Alex Cappa, who worked with general manager John Spytek on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
However, the Raiders may still add some competition, per The Athletic’s Vic Tafur.
“Spytek brought in a familiar face from his days with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Cappa, who struggled with the Cincinnati Bengals last season,” Tafur wrote in a March 19 column. “The 30-year-old veteran will compete with Parham and Meredith for two starting spots, as the former practice squadder Meredith was a nice story for the Raiders last year, starting eight games and holding his own amid the all the losing. Carroll said some nice things about Glaze, now entering his second year, but ideally the Raiders add someone to compete with him.”
Raiders OL Ranks 23rd in NFL
If the Raiders decide to keep much of the same offensive line from last season, the team will have to hope that the young players will improve. The offensive line was a weakness for Las Vegas in 2024 and Pro Football Network it ranked as the 23rd in the NFL.
“The run game was poor, ranking 22nd in RBWR and 21st in RBYBC/rush (0.85). The running backs the offensive line had to work with didn’t help, either,” Pro Football Network wrote in a March 13 column. “Largely, though, the unit struggled to open up holes for the ground game to take advantage of.
“The Raiders looked a little better over the final month of the season, ranking eighth in the last four weeks. It will be interesting to see whether they look to improve this group in the offseason or if they believe another year with the same front five will continue the upward trend we saw starting in December.”
Luckily, the Raiders have plenty of young talent. DJ Glaze showed promise at right tackle while Powers-Johnson has All-Pro potential. Kolton Miller should be better now that he’s healthy. The main concern is the two guard spots. Cappa struggled a lot last season and Dylan Parham has been up and down in his career. The Raiders could address guard in the draft.
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