While much of the attention has gone to unrestricted free agents, the Las Vegas Raiders had some in-house decisions to make on two exclusive rights free agents.
An exclusive rights free agent is considered as a player with less than two accrued seasons and an expired contract. While there are many ways to accrue time for a season, it mostly means that a player must be active for at least six games in two seasons. The Raiders had two free agents that fell into this category: offensive lineman Jordan Meredith and defensive tackle Matthew Butler.
Throughout the week, decisions were made by the Raiders on both of them.
The Raiders have decided to keep both of their ERFAs.
On Monday, the Raiders agreed to a deal with Meredith first.
Meredith was one of the unsung heroes of the Raiders season in 2024. An undrafted free agent signed by the Los Angeles Rams in 2021, Meredith not only finally received a chance to start in 2024 with the Raiders, but was one of the best guards in the league. According to Pro Football Focus, Meredith graded as the fifth-best guard in the NFL.
“Not appearing in a game until Week 6, Meredith played by far the fewest snaps among players on this list but made the absolute most of them,” wrote PFF’s Jim Wyman. “He didn’t allow any sacks and let his quarterback hit the ground only once to the tune of just nine pressures on 399 pass-blocking snaps.”
“This was Meredith’s first season playing more than 100 snaps since being an undrafted free agent in 2021. If 2024 was any indication, he should see a significant increase in his role going forward.”
Meredith should slide right back into a starting position at one of the guard spots, which is a fantastic achievement for an underdog player.
On Wednesday, the Raiders decided to do the same with Butler, agreeing to bring him back for the 2025 season.
While Butler is a less significant move than Meredith, he does add to the Raiders’ push for continuity. A fifth-round draft pick of the team in 2022, Butler has appeared in 15 games for the Raiders, recording 15 tackles and half a sack. He will likely compete for a roster spot once again on what is a deep Raiders defensive line.
Bringing Meredith and Butler back showcases the faith the team has in their abilities, and now they get the chance to prove that they made the right decision.
