The Las Vegas Raiders entered the offseason with more than just a few holes to sew up on their roster after a four-win campaign last year. Fortunately, John Spytek and Pete Carroll were up to the task, finding a handful of key upgrades at pivotal positions before the 2025 NFL season.
Some positions were addressed better than others, as the linebacker corps is filled with savvy veterans, and the running back room was boosted with Ashton Jeanty and Raheem Mostert. The wide receiver room, however, still has some question marks ahead of Week 1.
Signing veteran wide receiver Amari Cooper was seen as the missing piece, considering the team needed another experienced pass-catcher. But Cooper joined the fold late and retired after just over a week with the team, and it's clear now the Raiders should have gone another direction.
Raiders should have signed Keenan Allen instead of Amari Cooper
During Friday night's season-opening game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs, 12-year NFL veteran wideout Keenan Allen looked like his old self. After an initial drop, he knocked the dust off and finished with seven catches for 68 yards and a touchdown.
Of course, there was a lot of smoke surrounding Allen potentially joining the dark side this offseason. Not only did the Raiders need another receiver, but the new wide receivers coach in Las Vegas, Chris Beatty, has a great relationship with Allen from coaching him at his last two stops.
Plus, the Raiders had ample cap space to make the move happen. It may have seemed like kismet that Allen was going to return to Los Angeles, but every player has his price. He is making just $3 million this year from the Chargers, and Las Vegas was set to pay Cooper up to $6 million.
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They easily could have sweetened the deal and potentially pryed Allen from their division rivals. However, now they're left with a hole in the wideout group because of Cooper's sudden retirement, and they'll have to face Allen twice this season, the first time being in Week 2.
Reuniting with Cooper was healing in a way for Raider Nation in the same way it likely was for Chargers fans. But now, Cooper has left Las Vegas out in the cold; meanwhile his veteran counterpart looks like his old self and is serving as the missing piece to the Los Angeles offense.
While the Raiders have a slew of promising young pass-catchers that the fan base is excited to see develop, they do not have a ton of financial resources tied up in the position. This provides some flexibility for Las Vegas to make another move, if need be. Hopefully, they would get it right this time.