The Las Vegas Raiders have seized the opportunity to add another young pass rusher into the fold this offseason.
The Raiders have signed Patriots restricted free agent linebacker Christian Elliss to an offer sheet, per the wire. New England has until Monday, March 24 to match per Tom Pelissero on X, formerly Twitter.
The 25-year-old made 16 appearances and five starts last season in New England, posting 80 tackles, five quarterback hits, five pass deflections, and one interception and forced fumble.
It'll be interesting to see what the Patriots' decision is on Elliss before the end of the week.
Raiders bring a low-risk option to the defense
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Elliss entered the NFL in the 2021 season as an undrafted free agent, before finding a roster spot on the Philadelphia Eagles, where he spent his first two-and-a-half campaigns before heading to Foxborough in the second half of 2023.
Head coach Pete Carroll addressed the team's most pressing needs at the NFL Scouting Combine last month, per Rachel Gossen of Raiders.com.
“We won four games last year, and we've got to be realistic with that. We've got a lot of really good young players, I think. We've got some good veteran players, and we've just got to add quality humans and competitors to this roster wherever we can. And to me that's the biggest thing is like some guys that will do the harder thing longer than the person across from them, and we'll be in a good spot.”
This addition comes with some much-needed upside for the Raiders' growing defense as the organization kicks the offseason into high gear before the NFL Draft next month. It's clear that Patrick Graham views Elliss as someone who can carve out a role, and potentially become a defensive mainstay down the road, as the Raiders try to be smart with the salary cap.
