Former Raiders 1st-rounder just said what nobody else will about Josh McDaniels

No fan of the Las Vegas Raiders remembers the Josh McDaniels era fondly. On the heels of a playoff appearance under interim head coach Rich Bisaccia and GM Mike Mayock, owner Mark Davis opted to wipe the slate clean and hire McDaniels and Dave Ziegler, bringing "The Patriot Way" to Las Vegas.

Raider Nation knew at the onset that this was an ill-advised plan, and time has only further vindicated the fanbase. Not only did the team get worse and lose more games, but Las Vegas didn't develop its young players, and a toxic culture was cultivated under McDaniels.

The players seemed like they had a weight lifted off their shoulders when McDaniels was fired on Halloween night in 2023, and they immediately improved with the guidance of Antonio Pierce. It was obvious that the team felt a certain way about their head coach.

One recent Raiders first-rounder just let it all hang loose, though, as he still seemingly has a bone to pick with his former head coach.

Johnathan Abram didn't hold back in post about Josh McDaniels era Las Vegas Raiders

Safety Johnathan Abram, a first-round selection by Oakland back in 2019, played just eight games for McDaniels in Las Vegas before being released by the franchise in 2022. He recently posted the following message on his Instagram story, accompanied by a picture of Allegiant Stadium:

"I miss playing inside you," Abram wrote of the Raiders' home grounds. "Josh McDaniels ruined everything we built! He should be arrested for sabotaging the organization and going back to NE."

Now, this is a loaded statement from Abram. I had to double and triple-check that it was indeed real because it seemed so far-fetched, and this soured relationship felt like water under the bridge. But alas, this is a genuine post on Abram's Instagram story, and we just have to unpack it.

First of all, Abram is right that McDaniels effectively ruined everything Las Vegas was building. Again, the Raiders earned the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs and narrowly lost to the eventual conference champion Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card Round just a few weeks before McDaniels was hired.

After going 10-7 during the 2021 NFL season, McDaniels' team went 6-11 in 2022 and was a lifeless 3-5 before he met his fate with the organization. Pierce famously led the team to a 5-4 record the rest of the year and a near playoff berth, earning the full-time gig in McDaniels' wake. He did ruin things.

Abram was never a great player for the Silver and Black, or even a good one, and he certainly didn't live up to his billing as the No. 27 overall pick. He was a bit of a loose cannon at times and wasn't always available due to injury. Abram had more than his share of struggles in pass coverage.

But he was improving a bit during the 2021 season before McDaniels and Ziegler cut ties with him partway into the final year of his rookie deal. Surely, Abram harbors some resentment toward the duo as a result, especially considering that McDaniels has landed back with the New England Patriots.

The accusation that McDaniels intentionally sabotaged the Raiders before returning to New England may be a bit rich. McDaniels is simply an incompetent head coach and a very poor leader, and his results in Las Vegas and with the Denver Broncos speak for themselves.

McDaniels has never been considered a classy coach either, as he was caught cheating by videotaping opposing teams' practices while in Denver, and he was the lowest-rated head coach by the NFLPA in 2023. His players just don't like him, and he's not built for the head chair.

It is a bit hilarious and random, though, for Abram to post this in the heart of June while the NFL world is quiet. What could have provoked this? Nobody really knows. We probably will never get the full story from the former Raider.

But nobody has been willing to levy this accusation against McDaniels, that he intentionally sabotaged the team before returning to the Patriots. Some may have thought it or said it quietly, but Abram, who is out of the league, bears a grudge against McDaniels and has nothing to lose, just did.

And it was a glorious takedown that Raider Nation can't even disagree with.

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