Bold things will need to happen for the Las Vegas Raiders to make it to the Super Bowl next season, and here are some.
The Las Vegas Raiders season is officially over and as we look onto the off-season, there is a lot to be excited about. Even though this previous season was a disaster, this new Raiders regime seems to be looking ahead to the future, hopefully for the better. One move, in particular, has shocked the airways since the moment they announced it.
As many know by now, in Week 17 the Raiders decided to bench Derek Carr to protect themselves from the injury clause in his contract, effectively ending his nine-year career as an Oakland/Las Vegas Raider.
You can see here my original thoughts on why the Raiders weren’t going to take the next step until they moved on from Derek Carr. Carr’s contract gives the Raiders an out if he is traded or cut by February 15th, which is when his $33 million base salary for 2023 and $7.5 million of his 2024 base salary is fully guaranteed. If he were to get injured during the 2022 season, all of that would be guaranteed automatically.
Hence the benching.
So, with the position of QB1 currently vacant, there are a lot of rumors circulating on which of the half-a-dozen routes the Raiders could go will be the one they decide. The caveat on how much you invest in the quarterback position right away is the fact that Las Vegas has many holes that could warrant top picks or top free agents, all across the defense and among the offensive line on offense.
The Raiders still have a lot of good talent and pieces to build around though and in my opinion, aren’t as far away from competing for a championship as many people think. Is it going to take the perfect combination of off-season acquisitions for them to compete right away? of course. But the fact that is a possibility is hope in itself that they can build off a disappointing season.
Here are my three bold moves the Raiders can make in order to fight for a shot at the Lombardi Trophy come next February.
3 bold moves to put the Raiders in the Super Bowl next season
Bring in the Goat
I never thought anything would be as polarizing to Raider Nation as the tenure of Derek Carr, yet here we are with the possibility that Tom Brady could be dawning the Silver and Black as early as March. Many could never envision the idea of that happening, what with all the history that Brady and the Patriots have with the Raiders over the last few decades.
When it comes down to it though, there’s no denying he is the greatest quarterback of all time. I don’t need to sit here and go over his accolades to prove to you that is the case, his Superbowl rings speak for themselves. Some may say at the age of 46 that he is too old to be playing quarterback and that father time will catch up to him.
That sentiment has been alive since he left the Patriots and joined the Buccaneers, and he’s already won a Superbowl with them.
The reason this is the Raiders’ best shot to compete for a title is that Josh Mcdaniels’ system is the system Tom Brady won all those Superbowls in. No one knows his system inside and out more on planet earth than Brady and after watching how Jarrett Stidham played against the 49ers, we saw how good this system could be when you have the full playbook at their disposal.
Going with Brady is going to mean going all in on bolstering this offensive line. His mobility is a liability, but his ability to get the ball out quick, knowing where he wants to go and what’s going to be open, will make up for that. Plus, the current Raiders line did have their good games at protecting the quarterback.
Upgrade them across the board and bring in some good depth and the sentiment of Brady having issues in the pocket go away. If Josh Jacobs is retained, Brady will have something he had very little of in Tampa Bay: a run game. Leaning on that and his ability to navigate this system, you’ve got a recipe for instant success.
3 bold moves to put the Raiders in the Super Bowl next season
Draft Defense with a capital D
The Raiders have a lot of holes on their defense, with a lot of good talent mixed in as well. We saw them play really well at times, while also being a complete liability and the reason they lost games. One good thing is that a lot of their problems tended to be stupid mistakes keeping them on the field.
Even with that though the Raiders’ defense had a hard time getting out of there on 3rd down and allowing teams to keep drives going. The lack of internal pressure put more pressure on the defensive backs to stay in coverage longer and more often than not teams found ways to get open when given the time.
With a full slate of picks this year and an expected 10+ total through seven rounds, the Raiders have plenty of ammo to find their guys. With a lot of good defensive talent in this year’s draft and the number 7 overall pick, Las Vegas might have their pick of the litter. It’s very debatable whether they should try and go after a top quarterback talent at seven.
Whether that means trading up, or taking whoever falls to them (if they do), drafting a quarterback would mean planning for your future.
Taking one though indicates your intention to hope this year gets better, but not necessarily going all in to win big right now. Yes, a rookie QB could pick it up right away and ball out, but the likelihood is slim. Now, that doesn’t mean you can’t try and aim for Florida’s Anthony Richardson or Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker on day two.
But taking defensive linemen and cornerbacks with some of your premium picks would go a long way in getting players that can start and contribute day 1. If they can bolster each level of the defense with young talent, they could take their defense to the next step in standing strong through all 4 quarters of play.
3 bold moves to put the Raiders in the Super Bowl next season
Go get Jalen Ramsey
The Raiders went into the 2022 season with some good talent at the cornerback position. Their biggest issue was depth when players started to go down. We saw Nate Hobbs battle with an injury early on and Rock Ya-Sin deal with issues on the back end of the season. Amik Robertson stepped up in the absence of both of them, but beyond him, the Raiders really struggled to keep some consistency on the back end of their defense.
Las Vegas should absolutely draft young talent to develop for extended success, but if you want to make this cornerback room instantly better, you need to go out and get one of the league’s best players in Jalen Ramsey. I previously put together some options in which the Raiders could do exactly that.
Whether the Rams would trade Ramsey is the biggest question obviously, but after going all in to win the Super Bowl in 2021, Los Angeles is in salary cap hell at the moment and needs to find a way to get into the green, let alone have some room for the off-season. They also are very limited in draft picks and are essentially heading towards a 3+ year rebuild.
Jalen Ramsey would be the quintessential cap casualty, being that he is still playing at a high level and would still have some trade value.
Ramsey is still one of the best in the league. Many say he had a down year this year, yet he ranked 3rd in PFF’s overall grades for cornerbacks. Couple that with the news that came out last season of him practically begging the Raiders to trade for him in 2019, and you’ve got a match made in heaven. Jalen wants to be a Raider and the Raiders could use him in the worst way possible.
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If you want to make a statement that you’re all in for this season and make your defense instantly better, go out and use that draft capital to get one of the best defenders in the league. You might be surprised how cheap it could actually be to do so.
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