Pete Carroll has received plenty of criticism during the 2025 NFL season, which has been a wasted year for the 2-13 Las Vegas Raiders. While the light at the end of the tunnel could be the franchise landing the first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the team has done a terrible job of prioritizing its future.
The area for which Carroll deserves the most criticism is the lack of player development. Despite the season being lost well over two months ago and there being just two weeks left in the year, Ashton Jeanty remains the only rookie who has played even 50% of the offensive or defensive snaps.
Rookie offensive tackle Charles Grant has played just eight offensive snaps the entire year, while first-year guard Caleb Rogers did not get on the field until Week 13. Rogers has started and played every snap in each of the past three games, but he has shown plenty of promise.
Caleb Rogers could be an X-factor in Raiders' Week 17 matchup
While Rogers did not get on the field until far too late in the season, he has taken advantage of the opportunity. In his limited action, he has posted a 67.0 Pro Football Focus grade, including a 74.1 pass block grade and 60.1 run block grade.
Rogers also hasn't picked up a single penalty, and he has allowed just one sack, one quarterback hit, and six pressures. The offense also had arguably its best game of the season last week against the Houston Texans, and Rogers was an integral part of that.
The rookie already looks like a building block for the future, and he received praise from his quarterback on Tuesday. Geno Smith even suggested that Rogers is the Raiders' key to victory against the New York Giants in Week 17.
"I think Caleb, again, he's been developing throughout the year, and when he's gotten his opportunities, he's gone out there, and he's played well. I know he can improve on some things, and I know he'll be the first to say that, but I just love the way that he competes. The way that he goes out there," Smith said. "He gives us a chance to be a good offense. And, for him, just go out there and play your game. It's the NFL. There's great players all across the field, and you, yourself, are going to be a great player. You're working towards that, so every opportunity you get -- you get to face a Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, all the guys they have over there, Abdul Carter. When you get those opportunities to face those good D-linemen, you want to go out there and put on a great show, but it's also going to make you better."
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Smith later explained how the key to beating the Giants starts with slowing down their dominant defensive front, which makes Rogers' continuing to play well of the utmost importance when the Raiders take the field on Sunday.
Of course, Raider Nation is largely hoping that the team falls to the Giants, who are also 2-13, as the loser will control their destiny to the first overall pick. Still, the development of young players like Rogers is incredibly important.
If Rogers continues to play well over the final two games, it will be clear that he is a building block for the offensive line going forward. Facing a Giants defensive front that has plenty of talent, despite the team's poor record, will serve as a great test and measuring stick for the rookie.
Rogers, who has held his own against the Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos, and Houston Texans, did have an up-and-down game against the Philadelphia Eagles. But if he can nail his final two tests of the season, Las Vegas will have one less position to address in the offseason.