Las Vegas Raiders revamping the defense in a big way
By Brad Weiss
The Las Vegas Raiders have added two quality players to the defense, signing edge rusher Chandler Jones and trading for cornerback Rock Ya-Sin.
On Wednesday, the wheels began to start for the Las Vegas Raiders offseason, as they pulled off two monster deals early in the day. First, they signed former Arizona Cardinals edge rusher Chandler Jones in free agency, a move that created a logjam coming off the edge for Patrick Graham and this Raiders defense.
Earlier in the day, the team had released Carl Nassib after a few seasons with the franchise, and after signing Jones to a multi-year deal, they traded away Yannick Ngakoue. That trade with the Indianapolis Colts reunited Ngakoue with Gus Bradley and brought in return a star cornerback that will be a starter for the Raiders in 2022.
Rock Ya-Sin is someone who had high grades coming out in the 2019 NFL Draft, and is coming off his best season as a pro. He fills an immediate void on this Raiders defense, and while he is a solid addition, I could see the Raiders continuing to stack talent at the cornerback spot as we inch towards the 2022 NFL Draft.
Raiders still have a lot of work to do
While the additions of Jones and Ya-Sin are monster ones for this defense, there is still a lot of work left to do. Linebacker is a big issue right now, especially with Nicholas Morrow landing in Chicago, so it would not be surprising if the Raiders swung for a big-time linebacker in free agency.
The franchise has been stacking salary cap dollars for days now, and there is still the question of who is going to come in and take over as the WR1 on the outside on offense. Allen Robinson is still available, and with things not going so well in Green Bay with Davante Adams, there is still an outside shot that Derek Carr gets reunited with his college teammate.
After two quiet days to kick off the legal tampering period, Las Vegas is making its moves on Wednesday, and the team is better off now than it was on Monday. Las Vegas has money to spend, and a new regime in place at the top, so expect more fireworks in the coming days.