Raiders 2022 free agency: Las Vegas adds two linebackers, but is it enough?

The Las Vegas Raiders address linebacker depth in free agency, adding two new faces to the roster. Should the front office be satisfied?

The Raiders came into the day with only two linebackers on their roster. After focusing elsewhere throughout free agency, the front office zipped back to the position and doubled its size.

A lot has been done to the roster over this off-season, but one position that wasn’t addressed was the linebacker unit. Yesterday, Las Vegas made sure that changed, as the team announced the signings of two linebackers.

The first of the pair was Micah Kiser, who spent his last season playing for both the Broncos and Super Bowl champion’s Los Angeles Rams. Kiser’s biggest season was in 2020, where he started nine games, recording 77 tackles while breaking up three passes.

He didn’t log an interception, but he did force a fumble, showing he can create a turnover.

The second comes from the other Los Angeles team, the division rival Chargers. After bringing in Kiser, it only took two hours before the Raiders struck again, this time announcing the signing of Kyler Fackrell.

Fackrell has started 19 games in his career, playing for the Packers, Giants, and Chargers. Like Kiser, 2020 was also a big year for Fackrell. In his nine-starts, the linebacker logged 34 tackles, an interception, and even forced a fumble.

The former Charger also comes with pass-rushing skills, tallying 23.5 sacks throughout his career. As someone that brings a little bit of everything, he’s a perfect fit for Patrick Graham on the defensive side of the ball. After all, he did play for Graham in 2020, which was the year he saw his career-high in starts. In 2018, Fackrell had his most effective season, recording 42 tackles and 10.5 sacks.

While it’s nice that this unit was finally given attention, does it mean there’s no need to bring in any more linebackers? That’s what we’re here to talk about.