This offseason has been a wild one, with so many things happening that have created storylines for the 2025 season. And, many of those things, drama-related, have involved the Las Vegas Raiders.
Sure, trading for former Seattle Seahawks QB Geno Smith was big news, and hiring Pete Carroll plus John Spytek away from their assistant role with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was news. But, it's safe to say the league-wide news that has dominated headlines seems to be the second-round rookies who have been somewhat holding out.
It all started with the Houston Texans when they gave their rookie wide receiver Jayden Higgins a nice deal that had a ton of guaranteed money. So, they set the precedent when they got their deal done with him early. Then, the Los Angeles Chargers' rookie wide receiver Tre Harris is expected to hold out.
So now, none of these teams want to be the first one to do it and give a rookie a guaranteed contract, because then that would show that rookies have power, and frankly, the teams don't like that.
On Thursday, the trend started, as one team finally put pen to paper with their rookie, then another, and so on. And, the Raiders followed the trend.
Raiders sign second-round rookie Jack Bech
According to Tashan Reed of The Athletic and Ryan McFadden of ESPN, the Raiders signed Bech to his rookie contract on Thursday night, meaning it's very possible he held out of the first day of training camp, when rookies report, on July 17.
But the important part is that they now have him, and he can come to training camp every day.
The Raiders will need him in 2025. They love what he brings to the table as a weapon, playmaker, and blocker. To get the best of Smith, you need to make sure he is protected and he has plenty of weapons. They have done that.
