Entering Week 13 of the 2025 NFL season, the Las Vegas Raiders have allowed the second-most sacks in the NFL (41). That total is skewed a bit by allowing 10 sacks to the Cleveland Browns in Week 12, but pass protection has been a general issue most of the season.
To be entirely fair, the Raiders are down their best two offensive linemen. Left tackle Kolton Miller has been out since Week 4, and right guard Jackson Powers-Johnson has been out since Week 10. Offensive line depth issues are not unique to Las Vegas, but this unit lacks starting-caliber talent.
There are broader issues on that front line, rooted in what the coaching staff has done, or not done, to put guys in a position to succeed. Players have been played out of position, forced to compete with an inferior player, or made assignment mistakes that almost appear to be intentional at times.
Lincoln Kennedy sees a deeper concern with the Raiders offensive line
There have been schematic issues with the Raiders' offense, which offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has now taken the fall for. All of the Raiders' issues along the offensive line should put offensive line coach Brennan Carroll in the same boat as Kelly, but fans know exactly why he has job security.
On a recent episode of the Locked on Raiders Squad Show podcast, former All-Pro Raiders offensive lineman Lincoln Kennedy highlighted an intangible thing he's seeing with this year's unit, and it is far worse than any talent-related issues.
“I see more and more things. And this is a big thing to me, because this is big in body language. I don’t see a lot of offense linemen picking up Geno Smith when he’s down,” Kennedy said. “The reason why I say that is because we have a measure of pride in the offensive line room. We don’t leave one of our guys on the ground too long. Even if it wasn’t your man that hit him, quarterback goes down, you go over to pick him up, help him up, give him help in hand.”
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With clips absent of full context able to surface as easily as they do these days, it's easy to make too much of things like offensive linemen not helping their quarterback up after he is hit or sacked.
So, Kennedy was careful to not foster overreaction, while also noting his concern extends a little beyond the offensive line not helping Geno Smith up.
“I don’t know what that translates into in the locker room,” Kennedy continued. “I’m not saying that there’s a level of disconnect between Geno and the players. I’m just saying from this body language and this record, this is what you’re going to get. And it’s probably going to get worse."
At 2-9, and with one game that really looks winnable left on the schedule, it'll be hard for Raiders' players to hide their frustration, and it should also be noted that bad body language has not just been an offensive line issue.
But with Smith struggling and under seige from opposing defensive lines like he is, Kennedy's perspective as a former offensive lineman lands as revelant when he sees little things like this, and it is a further indictment of both Pete and Brennan Carroll.