Raiders' budding star finally gets acknowledgement that fans can get behind

Led by new head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek, the Las Vegas Raiders are in a season of overdue change. The roster couldn't be completely turned over in one offseason, but there will be some players acquired by past regimes who stick around for the turnaround.

In a very interesting move before free agency started, the Raiders signed safety Isaiah Pola-Mao to a two-year contract extension. This also proved to be a bit of foreshadowing for what the team had planned.

Tre'Von Moehrig and Marcus Epps, the starting safeties from the last two seasons, were not re-signed in free agency. They were replaced by free agent signing Jeremy Chinn and Pola-Mao as the new pair of starting safeties.

Isaiah Pola-Mao draws sentiment Raider Nation will fully endorse

Of course, Pola-Mao started 14 games for the Raiders last season in place of the injured Epps, and he acquitted himself pretty well with 89 total tackles, five pass breakups, one sack, and two forced fumbles.

Even with the presumption, or practical guarantee, that he'll be a Week 1 starter this year, Pola-Mao has made it clear he's taking nothing for granted.

"I want to earn that starting role,” Pola-Mao told reporters in June. “Last year, I was kind of shoved into that role by default. ... I want to earn that trust with the guys, the coaches. This is a new defense, so, nothing last year matters. It’s a new start for me."

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Dan Parr of NFL.com recently anointed one player to root for on each AFC team, and Pola-Mao had to have been the pretty easy choice for the Raiders.

"After battling his way onto the Raiders’ roster as a backup safety and special teamer during his first two NFL campaigns, injuries thrust Pola-Mao into the starting lineup early last season and he performed well enough to earn a two-year contract from the franchise’s new regime," Parr wrote.

Parr then referenced Pola-Mao's aforementioned comments as evidence of a "clear-eyed, humble approach I can get behind."

Pola-Mao has had an interesting journey. He has acknowledged he nearly quit football after his last year in college at Southern California. But after leaning on his wife and his uncle, Pro Football Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu, he got his passion back and prepared for the 2022 NFL Draft.

Although he went undrafted and toiled mainly as a special teams player over his first two years with the Raiders, opportunity knocked early last season. Then, he became a bright spot during an otherwise dismal campaign.

Raider Nation would wholeheartedly agree that Pola-Mao is easy to root for, and the new regime investing in him as quickly as it did showed that they are believers as well.