Raiders free agency 2025: Productive Adam Butler should be brought back

Defensive tackle familiar with Patrick Graham’s scheme and shouldn’t break the bank

As general manager John Spytek, head coach Pete Carroll, and the rest of the coaching staff go about roster building this offseason, the Las Vegas Raiders decision makers will have a number of choices to make.

One of the looming actions are what to do about the team’s in-house free agents? Las Vegas has 28 of them with 17 being the unrestricted free agent type that’ll hit the open market when the new league year starts on March 12. This group includes key 2024 contributors middle linebacker Robert Spillane, safety Tre’Von Moehrig, and cornerback Nate Hobbs to name a few.

Spytek and Co. will have easier decisions on five restricted free agents (such as safety Isaiah Pola-Mao and quarterback Desmond Ridder) and six exclusive rights free agents (like guard Jordan Meredith or defensive edge Charles Snowden). Restricted free agents rarely leave the team they were on (with qualifying tenders) and exclusive rights free agents have no choice to ink a qualifying offer from the team they were on, or retire.

But there’s one unrestricted free agent the Raiders would be wise to bring back for the upcoming season: Defensive tackle Adam Butler.

It’s easy to see why Butler reflected on the what ifs above. Las Vegas lost defensive tackle Christian Wilkins (inked to a second-richest deal at the position group last offseason in free agency; a four-year, $110 million with $82.75 million guaranteed contract) and defensive ends Malcolm Koonce and Maxx Crosby to injuries for a lengthy period of time.

But in Wilkins’ absence, Butler stepped right in and played the most snaps and started the most games of his six-year career with 858 snaps (77 percent of the Raiders defensive total) and 16 starts. The 30-year-old notched a career-high 65 total tackles (35 solo) to go with five sacks, eight stops for loss, 10 quarterback hits, two pass deflections and a forced fumble. In the final five weeks of the 2024 campaign, Butler produced 3.5 of his total sack count.

All that after signing a meager, one-year $1.9 million deal last offseason to return to Las Vegas.

Not only does Butler provide production on the field, he’s a respected veteran that’s taken younger players under his wing in the absence of both Wilkins and Crosby, such as young defensive end Tyree Wilson (who showed progress in Year 2 with 27 total tackles (16 solo), 4.5 sacks, six tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hits and a forced fumble.

Even though both Spytek and Carroll are new to the Raiders, Butler’s on-field and locker room contributions should entice both to give the veteran defensive lineman a long look. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham is back in the fold and can speak to Butler’s importance, too.

The 6-foot-5 and 300-pound undrafted free agent from Vanderbilt is quite familiar with minority owner Tom Brady who he credits for changing his life through football.

Butler is certainly looking to improve upon the table-scraps type deal he inked with Las Vegas last offseason and his 2024 contributions demand more coin. But just how much market value does the defensive tackle hold?

If you look at both Spotrac and Over The Cap, you get wildly varying numbers, for instance.

Spotrac projects Butler’s value at an average annual salary of $2.9 million. The site forecasts a market value being a two-year, $5.71-plus million pact for Butler which puts him at 50 in terms of positional contract rankings.

Over The Cap, meanwhile, gives Butler a valuation of $8.333 million in terms of average annual salary.

While Butler did produce back-to-back five-sack seasons in his two-year stint in Silver & Black, the eventual contract he lands this offseason is likely more in-line with Spotrac’s projections rather than Over The Cap.

While age may be a detriment for Butler (he turns 31 on April 12), Las Vegas lack of depth at the defensive tackle position as the team heads into the offseason plays in his favor. Wilkins and youngsters Jonah Laulu and Tomari Fox are the only defensive tackles under contract at the moment. Veteran John Jenkins and younger tackles Matthew Butler and Zachary Carter are exclusive rights and restricted free agents, respectively.

The Raiders could always go the route of inking another free agent on the open market or draft a prospect to fill out and bolster the defensive tackle position, however, in Adam Butler, they’ve got a player who is acclimated to Graham’s system and is a productive leader to boot.

Why make the choice harder than it has to be?