Las Vegas Raiders: David Ziegler under immense pressure in Year 2
By Brad Weiss
Going into Year 2, Las Vegas Raiders general manager will be under immense pressure to put a winning football team on the field.
Last offseason, new Las Vegas Raiders general manager David Ziegler was inheriting a solid situation. During the 2021 NFL regular season, the Raiders shocked the NFL landscape, overcoming so much adversity to win four straight games down the stretch and clinch a Wild Card berth.
With a playoff roster already in the building, Ziegler would be able to add some talent to fill the gaps and keep the train moving in the right direction. However, a year after being named general manager, Ziegler has a ton of work to do, including fixing the offensive line, and the entire defense, as well as finding a franchise quarterback.
Going into his second season, especially after a six-win season in 2022, Ziegler is under immense pressure to right the wrongs this offseason. He has the salary cap and draft capital to do so, but all eyes will be on every move he makes across the next few months.
Is Ziegler the right man for the Raiders?
By most accounts, people are blown away by Ziegler, the way he presents himself, and his knowledge of the game. Coming from New England, where he was a part of a lot of winning, the expectation was that he, and his head coach hire, Josh McDaniels, would help the Raiders take the next step forward in 2022.
As we all know, that did not happen, and while there is a lot to blame for that, it always trickles up to both the general manager and head coach. With over 20 players entering free agency this offseason, Ziegler has an opportunity to really reshape this roster the way he sees fit, and team owner Mark Davis has entrusted him to do so.
Ziegler is a young general manager, and the Raiders job was his first time being in such an important role. Maybe he is the right man for the job, but the early returns have not been good, and after one year on the job, he has more questions to answer than he did a year ago.