Las Vegas Raiders have a lot of work left to do in 2023 free agency
By Brad Weiss
The Las Vegas Raiders made a few big moves in free agency so far, but looking at this roster, there is a lot of work left to do.
When the legal tampering period kicked off on Monday, the Las Vegas Raiders came right out of the gate swinging, signing quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. With the team moving on from Derek Carr after the 2022 NFL season, the need for a quarterback was a glaring one, and they filled it with a veteran who has won a lot of football games in his career.
While the signing of Jimmy G was not a splashy one, it checked off one box for general manager David Ziegler in Year 2 at the helm. Once that was done, the staff turned their focus to a roster that desperately needed an influx of elite talent on both sides of the ball, especially along both lines.
What has happened since the signing of Garoppolo has been less than stellar, as they gave $33 million to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, traded away star tight end Darren Waller, and for the most part, have not improved the roster. While other teams in the AFC West are clearly getting better, Las Vegas seems to be going in the other direction, and we could certainly be in for another year that leads us to pick in the top 10.
Raiders have a lot of work to do after the slow free agency start
Las Vegas went into this free agency and draft season with glaring holes on both sides of the ball, as they needed to revamp the offensive line, get better in the interior of the defensive line, and really fix all three levels on the defensive side of the ball. The team did bring back Jerry Tillery on Wednesday, who is a nice piece at defensive tackle, but there is so much more work left to be done.
The secondary, which was atrocious at times, only added guys like Marcus Epps and Brandon Facyson, while the linebacker corps, which is depleted after the loss of Denzel Perryman, added Robert Spillane. Those are not the kind of moves that are going to take a six-win team to the top of an AFC West that is absolutely loaded.
The good thing is, there is still a bunch of solid talent available this free agency season, and the team does hold five picks in the first 109 selections this April. Ziegler and Josh McDaniels better have a plan to improve this roster in a hurry, because after his debut in 2022, you have to think the seat is getting hot underneath McDaniels.