Las Vegas Raiders Offseason Preview

This is the second-to-last installment in an ongoing series of NFL offseason previews that is wrapping up just under the wire!

2025 Season in a Nutshell

The Grave of the Early-2020s Seahawks.

Coaching Situation

Klint Kubiak, scion of the NFL’s First Family of Functionaries and second cousin to the McVay-Shanaclan, knows which side his toast is buttered on.

Really excited to work with Tom [Brady]. He made the mistake of giving me his cell phone number, so he might wish he never did that because I’m going to be calling him a lot.

In the interview process, just the passion that he spoke with on all things football got me excited about the opportunity to work with him … That’s one of the main draws to come here, is to get to work with him, to get to work with ‘Spy’ [G.M. John Spytek]. These are great football minds that, if we collaborate the way we’re supposed to, we’re going to pull the best out of each other. — Klint Kubiak, at his introductory press conference.

Get a room, you three.

Rob Leonard, originally a D-line coach, survived the Josh McDaniels, Antonio Pierce and Pete Carroll purges and is now the defensive coordinator. Leonard’s relationship to Maxx Crosby is best speculated about by the authors of really steamy fanfic.

Andrew Janocko, who has tagged along with Kubiak since the 2024 Saints, is the new Raiders offensive coordinator. Kubiak and Janocko don’t plan to hire a quarterbacks coach, because why on earth would a rookie head coach AND quarterback want to have as many resources as possible at their disposal?

Quarterback Situation

The Raiders are expected to use the top pick in the draft to select Fernando Mendoza, who won the Heisman Trophy, led Indiana to a National Championship and is, according to most expert opinions, the sixth-to-eighth-best prospect (regardless of position) in a weak draft class.

Geno Smith remains on the payroll at presstime, with a base salary of $26.5 million. The Raiders will listen to offers from folks who still think Geno is a franchise starter, but most podcasters don’t have that kind of money. Few quarterbacks are better qualified to play the role of forgotten veteran on the bench.

State of the Roster

Maxx Crosby wants out of this chicken outfit. Or maybe he wants more money, more attention, more of the behind-the-scenes organizational power he briefly wielded in 2024, or some combination of the above.

The Raiders are publicly making soothing sounds about Crosby while trying to drum up a bidding war behind the scenes. Potential suitors are aware that: a) Crosby is one of the best defenders in the league, but also b) a whiny diaper daddy who needs constant coddling. The Raiders are unlikely to get the two-first-round-picks-and-change they are holding out for.

As for the rest of the Raiders roster, there’s Brock Bowers, Ashton Jeanty, an injured Kolton Miller, a few semi-capable defensive veterans, and some recent high draft picks (Jackson Powers-Johnson, Tyree Wilson) that the Brady administration doesn’t seem to like very much.

Cap and Draft Stuff

And now for some good news.

The Raiders possess $80 million in paper cap space. Getting rid of Geno could free up a little more.

Eric Stokes, Malcolm Koonce and Daniel Carson are the best players on the Raiders’ in-house free agent list. The rest of the Raiders’ free agent pool is a Who’s Who of Bad 2025 Ideas: Kenny Pickett, Devin White, Tyler Lockett, Elandon Roberts and Jamal Adams, who had his moments and would make a wonderful 15-snap-per-game blitzing dime defender for the Lions.

The Raiders pick first, 36th and 67th in the first three rounds of the 2026 draft. They have extra fourth- and sixth-round picks thanks to the Jakobi Meyers trade.

One Thing the Raiders Should Do

Hire a quarterback coach.

Kubiak has never been a head coach at any level. Janocko has never been a coordinator at any level. (Nor has Leonard.) Mendoza is a rookie. There’s a real chance that everyone will start feeling overwhelmed by mandatory minicamp. The Raiders will need someone who can act as Mendoza’s private tutor and guidance counselor. Sure, Geno could stick around to do that sort of work, but why shouldn’t Mendoza have both a coach AND a creaky mentor?

In Summary

Even as a hobbyist dilettante who could wander off without notice at any moment (he still lacks an official title, salary, etc.), Tom Brady may well be a better decision maker than the NFL’s bottom tier of meddlesome owners/de-facto GMs.

The Crosby Rebellion is currently providing us with the first true test of Brady’s mettle as a showrunner. After that, Brady must build an offense to nurture Mendoza without reaching in a thin draft or overpaying in free agency, all the while maintaining the charade that Kubiak is more than just his version of Jason Garrett.

By comparison, coming back from a 25-point deficit in the second half of a Super Bowl may seem pretty easy.