Returning Raider Nation’s questions for the week
We’re officially one week into Free Agency 2025 and the Las Vegas Raiders’ roster has been shaken up. Tre’von Moehrig, Robert Spillane, Nate Hobbs and a handful of others are headed elsewhere while Jeremy Chinn, Elandon Roberts and Eric Stokes are in. With that, free agency will be the focus for this week’s mailbag.
If you have an NFL Draft question, circle back with it next week as I’ll include more draft talk moving forward.
A: I wouldn’t be surprised if the Raiders make a run at Asante Samuel Jr. from the Chargers. Samuel is the best cornerback left on the market, in my opinion, and he will be just 26 years old this season. He has the ball skills to be the team’s No. 1 corner and is young enough to be a potential cornerstone of the defense.
At running back, taking a one-year flier on Nick Chubb to see what he has left in the tank after the knee injuries might be Las Vegas’ best option at running back. But Chubb will be 30 years old in December and has played in just 10 games over the last two seasons combined, so he isn’t a long-term option. I think the front office is much more likely to take advantage of the deep draft class at the position this offseason.
A: The defense definitely got worse in free agency. While Chinn and Roberts are solid replacements, player-for-player, they’re downgrades from Moehrig and Spillane. Obviously, the contracts come into play, and I think Spillane’s and Hobbs’ deals were steep, but I probably would have bitten the bullet with Moehrig. Granted, I might be a bit biased since I’ve been a big fan of his game going back to his TCU days.
After the first week of free agency, I have questions/concerns at free safety, linebacker, slot corner and nose tackle. Offensively, the Raiders do have a short-term solution at quarterback, but the front office hasn’t solidified any of their other positions of need so far.
Q: Are the Raiders using their cap space this year or postponing until next year? How much can they postpone until next year?
A: Per Over The Cap, Las Vegas has $47.5 million of cap space currently available, and that includes Smith’s, Chinn’s and Roberts’ contracts. Given the lack of big moves so far in free agency, it looks like John Spytek is going to roll over the money for next season. Teams can roll over as much cap space as they want from year to year, but they do have to spend at least 89 percent of the cap over a four-year period.
Q: Do the Raiders have Jordan Meredith locked up for this season?
A: This hasn’t made news since Meredith was an exclusive rights free agent and isn’t a big name, but yes, he did re-sign. According to Over The Cap, Meredith is on a one-year, $1.03 million contract. If he plays like he did last season, that will be one of the most economical guard contracts in the league with the market over the last couple of offseasons.
Q: I like the idea of Joe Milton better than anybody in the draft. Send Aidan O’Connell back to Josh McDaniels for Milton? Then you wouldn’t have to use a draft pick on a quarterback. What say’s you, Matt?
A: I wouldn’t mind trading O’Connell for Milton since Geno Smith could be a good mentor for Milton, given their playing styles, and Milton would be a decent fit with Chip Kelly. That would give the Raiders a potential quarterback of the future who has one more year on a rookie deal than O’Connell does.
The problem is that I don’t think the Patriots and McDaniel would be interested in O’Connell. They have their long-term quarterback in Drake Maye, and while McDaniels drafted O’Connell, McDaniels also refused to play O’Connell during his rookie season. So, a trade would likely require draft picks, and there “hasn’t been any action toward a Joe Milton trade” this offseason, according to Ian Rapoport (via The Pat McAfee Show).
A: Christian Wilkins is still the second-highest-paid defensive tackle at $27.5 million per year, per OTC. He’s below Chris Jones ($31.75 million) and ahead of Milton Williams ($26 million) after Williams signed with the Patriots this offseason. A few other notable defensive tackles Wilkins is ahead of are Nnamdi Madubuike ($24.5 million, 4th), Quinnen Williams ($24 million, 7th) and Jeffery Simmons ($23.5 million, 8th).
A: This one is cheating a little since it’s a draft question, but there’s at least a free agency tie to it. I think the free agency moves signal a heavy defensive draft for the Raiders. The defense has lost a handful of starters this offseason and hasn’t addressed positions like cornerback and nose tackle. Especially without an immediate need at quarterback, I think Spytek is looking to load up with young defensive talent in April.
That’ll do it for this week’s mailbag. Thank you all for submitting questions and, as your weekly reminder, if you’d like to have your questions answered in a future column, tweet them at me, @MHolder95, email them to [email protected] or look for our weekly call for questions on the site. The latter will continue to publish on Thursdays.
