While last season was a tough pill to swallow, the Las Vegas Raiders are heading in the right direction in 2026 under Klint Kubiak. Although John Spytek was around for last year's disaster and is culpable for at least some of the shortcomings, he also deserves praise for how things have gone this year.
Not every decision he has made since taking over for the Silver and Black has aged well, but he's also done some undeniably great work through the draft, via trade, and in the free agent realm to have this team at 4-4 near the trade deadline, when they won just three games in all of the last campaign.
To gain a better understanding of how the Raiders' GM has fared on the open market, let's evaluate every free-agent signing that he's made in his time with Las Vegas. For ease of evaluation, we will put them into categories ranging from a home-run addition to a disaster. Let's dive in.
(Note: this does not include re-signings, contract extensions, practice squad additions or UDFAs, and we will keep smaller offseason signings to a minimum, unless notable.)
Categorizing every free agent Raiders GM John Spytek has signed
Home run (3):
Tyler Linderbaum, Kirk Cousins, Nakobe Dean
Adding Linderbaum in the first place was a heist, and when the Raiders put some capable guards next to him, everyone will be reminded again of just how great he is. Cousins has also been a revelation, especially considering his stomachable cost. Dean has been worth the money, and probably more.
Great (3):
Eric Stokes, Quay Walker, Matt Gay
Week 8 of this season aside, Stokes has been a solid No. 1 corner for Las Vegas, and Spytek got him in the building on a prove-it deal and kept him on a team-friendly extension. Walker has also been very good for his price this season, solidifying the linebacker corps. Gay has been great for cheap.
Good (10):
Jeremy Chinn, Connor Heyward, Cody White, Spencer Burford, Foley Fatukasi, Tim Keenan III, Jamal Adams, Segun Olubi, Patrick Johnson, Alex Ward
Jeremy Chinn is close to the "great" tier because he inked such a favorable contract, but he's just not quite in that echelon of players. Still, a very good addition at the price point; he's played practically every defensive snap over the last two years. Heyward has also been a nice and valuable find.
White was a practice squad signing but gets recognition because he was also signed to the 53. For a veteran minimum, he's been a tremendous add with 3 touchdowns. Same for Burford, who was added late in the process but has played every snap. He's a good run-blocker but struggles in pass pro.
Fatukasi and Keenan III were both added late in the process, but they have quickly become two of the better players in the Raiders' defensive tackle room. Adams was also the best linebacker on the team last year, and he was dirt cheap, but Las Vegas didn't utilize him enough to be more than "good."
Olubi, Johnson and Ward have all been very good additions on special teams, and finding those players can be difficult.
Fine (10):
Raheem Mostert, Dare Ogunbowale, Ian Thomas, Chris Myarick, Deven Thompkins, Lonnie Johnson, Greedy Vance, Albert Okwuegbunam, Atonio Mafi, Jon Rhattigan
Mostert was a solid veteran for Ashton Jeanty last year, and he made contributions when called upon, but not many. Ogunbowale filled that role this year as well and was good enough that he was signed off the Las Vegas practice squad, which says something.
Thomas plays a lot for a player at his price point, but he just isn't that effective. Still, he caught a touchdown this season and is a contributor, which is fine. Myarick and Thompkins both played in games this season and didn't do a whole lot, good or bad, so they land in the "fine" category, too.
Johnson was an okay safety for the Raiders but spent most of the year hurt and was not re-signed. Vance has been good when he's on the active roster, but opportunities have been scarce this year. Okwuegbunam is in the exact same boat as Vance.
As for Mafi and Rhattigan, the fact that Las Vegas plucked Mafi off the street and he ended up playing real snaps for them is a bit miraculous, and he was claimed after being waived by the Raiders this year, so that also says something. Rhattigan was a fine special-teamer last season.
Bad (6):
Kwity Paye, Jalen Nailor, Elandon Roberts, Germaine Pratt, Dareke Young, Leki Fotu
Alright, the bad.
Paye's contract looks pretty horrendous right now, even if he's tied for the team lead in sacks. His pass-rush win rate is a mere 4.9 percent, which is awful, and he just doesn't show up on Sundays. Nailor, until this past week, had been a complete nothing, so he feels overpaid right now as well.
Roberts was a very good run defender for the Raiders last season, but he was a disaster in coverage. That balances out to "bad." Pratt was solid and seemed to be a great signing, but something weird happened behind the scenes, and he was gone in a flash. He wasn't here long enough for "disaster."
Young was signed to a cheap deal, but he is supposed to be an elite special-teamer, and he has not been that for Las Vegas. Fotu was added to help out the interior, but like Pratt, something bizarre happened, and he was gone as quickly as he arrived after not doing a whole lot on defense.
Disaster (4):
Devin White, Stone Forsythe, Tyler Lockett, Alex Cappa
White was arguably the worst linebacker in the league last year, and he played every snap. Forsythe was easily the worst left tackle in the NFL in 2025, and yet he played from Week 5 on. Lockett was a waste of a signing, and so was Cappa, as they played poorly and halted development for youngsters.
N/A (1):
Amari Cooper
Cooper signed and immediately retired, and while the dead cap hit hurt a bit, it wasn't much, and there was no way to predict this.
Overall, Spytek has fared well in free agency. Obviously, most of the signings are going to hover somewhere in the middle, but he's found some gems and successfully swung big. However, he's also made some key errors on big contracts, and we haven't seen the full fallout of these deals yet.
At the end of the year, we'll have an even clearer picture of how these moves look in hindsight. But for now, Spytek just needs to keep doing what he's doing, and the Raiders will continue trending in the right direction.
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