The Las Vegas Raiders are doing things a bit differently under Pete Carroll and John Spytek, and that is okay. For a team that won just four games last season and has no playoff victories in over two decades, change should be welcomed with open arms.
An overhaul began this offseason when the new regime got rid of over half the Raiders' defensive starters from last season. Both of the team's starting linebackers, Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo, were not offered a contract and the new brass looked elsewhere.
They landed on an underwhelming duo of Elandon Roberts and Devin White, which was bolstered with the additions of veteran Jaylon Smith and seventh-round rookie Cody Lindenberg later in the offseason. Hope was slim for the linebacker room until the Raiders recently signed Germaine Pratt.
Raiders made much-needed Germaine Pratt signing based on PFF's linebacker rankings
It is a great thing that Las Vegas pulled the trigger on the six-year veteran, who was recently released by the Cincinnati Bengals. Otherwise, the Raiders would have landed even lower than No. 21 on Pro Football Focus' linebacker group rankings, courtesy of Dalton Wasserman.
"The Raiders overhauled their linebacker unit this offseason after the loss of several veteran players. Entering 2025, former Bengal Germaine Pratt and ex-Steeler Elandon Roberts are expected to play leading roles," Wasserman wrote. "Pratt posted a 70.1 PFF run-defense grade but struggled in coverage last season. The same can be said for Roberts, who recorded a spectacular 91.0 PFF run-defense grade in 2024. Behind those two are Devin White, who played fewer than 200 snaps last season, and a cascade of inexperienced players."
Pratt instantly became the best linebacker in Las Vegas, and likely saved this unit from being ranked in the bottom-five of the league. He was a pivotal part of the Bengals' Super Bowl run in 2021 and comes to the Raiders with over 600 career tackles, including 32 for a loss, and seven interceptions.
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Outside of Pratt and Roberts, however, things are a bit shaky. Both Smith and White are past their primes at this point in their career, and while they can still fill a role, they should not be every-down linebackers anymore.
Young players like Amari Burney and Tommy Eichenberg are both exciting, but neither have proven anything in the NFL thus far. Pratt is at a perfect middle ground where he is experienced enough to teach the young players, but young enough still to factor into the team's future.
Offseason projections are always just that: projections. However, the linebacker room has been a point of contention this offseason, and sometimes, where there is smoke, there is fire. Fortunately, the Raiders seemingly found their fire extinguisher in Pratt, who should elevate the group as a whole.
