After revamping their front office with a new general manager, head coach, and offensive coordinator, the most significant area of need for the Las Vegas Raiders is the quarterback position. Las Vegas has failed to find a long-term solution at the signal-caller position, which has proved costly to many coaches' and players' careers. The Silver and Black have started five quarterbacks over the past two seasons, with quarterback Aidan O'Connell being the most consistent.
While O'Connell has played well under mostly unfavorable circumstances, the Raiders play in the same division as one of the best quarterbacks of all time, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and one of the best quarterbacks in the National Football League today, Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.
Jacob Camenker of USA TODAY recently released his list of free agency predictions for every team in the league. While most believe the Raiders will use the NFL Draft to find their next quarterback, Camenker thinks they will set aside some of their nearly $100 million in free agency to sign veteran quarterback Sam Darnold, most recently of the Minnesota Vikings.
"Las Vegas has the cap space needed to make multiple splashes, but they need to add a quarterback after Gardner Minshew, Aidan O'Connell, and Desmond Ridder combined for an 80.05 passer rating in 2024. The Raiders aren't guaranteed to land the top two quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL draft, Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders, so Darnold looks like a good stopgap with upside. The soon-to-be 28-year-old is coming off his best-ever season under Kevin O'Connell but should come at a reasonable price after imploding in Minnesota's final two games," Camenker said.
The Raiders will still have their fair share of pressing needs after finding a quarterback, as their roster is deeply flawed. The possibility of losing some of their best players to free agency only threatens to worsen things for the Silver and Black. New Raiders general manager John Spytek must take a leveled approach to solidify the quarterback position this offseason and not be swayed into making the incorrect decision to appease the fanbase or anyone else.
