The Raiders have a long list of difficult decisions coming in free agency and many of those decisions will involve their own players.
Robert Spillane, Tre’von Moehrig, Malcolm Koonce, Adam Butler, K’Lavon Chaisson, Divine Deablo and Nate Hobbs are all set to enter free agency, and it’s unlikely the Raiders will be able to keep them all.
One player that will be particularly complicated to valuate in Koonce as he is returning from an ACL injury he suffered prior to the start of the regular season.
Koonce missed all of the 2024 season, but his impact in second half of the 2023 season definitely impacts his value despite the lost season.
In nine games to close out the 2023 season, Koonce recorded 8 sacks. His numbers down the stretch were marginally better than Maxx Crosby’s that year.
“I think Malcolm Koonce took the biggest leap forward of anyone in the back half of the [2023] season,” Yahoo Sports and Fox Radio host Jason Fitz said on Raider Nation Radio’s The Morning Tailgate in January of last year. “Koonce has developed… his moves, his ability to get around, [his] shiftiness if you will, all of that has been a huge portion of his development, and I credit the coaches for that.”
With new decision-makers in the building, it’s fair to wonder how the Raiders are going to valuate Koonce, but according to Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter, the new regime might be more willing to invest in him than the previous regime.
“I have said to you before that the past regime was looking at a one-year prove-it deal with Malcolm [Koonce], but I was unsure they would get to keep them because I think there are teams that would give [him] more than one year and pay [him] more,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast. “I think the Raiders may be there. I think they may be willing to go different than the previous regime. I think there’s a good chance.”
With the return of defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, Koonce becomes more likely to return to the Raiders in 2025, but he will definitely have suitors in free agency.
Spotrac.com projects Koonce to make $20 million per year on a two-year deal in free agency.
That’s a tall price to pay if $20 million per year ends up being his market value.
Will the Raiders be willing to do it if that’s what it takes to keep Koonce?
