When Pete Carroll and John Spytek took over as the new head coach and general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders, they were walking into a great situation. They had ample salary cap space and draft picks to utilize so they could completely rebrand this team into their own.
The first offseason was fairly conservative, however, as Raider Nation clamored all offseason for the team to make a big move. Of course, they traded for Geno Smith and handed out a handful of extensions, but the fan base is used to the franchise spending big money in free agency.
Still, despite a relatively quiet offseason, the team has only $8 million remaining in cap space this year due to massive amounts of dead money. The future remains bright, however, as the Raiders have the second-most cap space in the league in each of the next three years.
But as far as this season is concerned, Las Vegas is in a tough spot at 1-4, and the front office may already regret handing out these contracts.
Raiders may already be re-thinking these five offseason contracts
1. Alex Cappa (2 years/ $11.0 million)
With a strong contingent returning on the Raiders' offensive line, this move never made sense. Unless, of course, they planned to start him, which Carroll tried every avenue to make happen. Now, however, Cappa is sitting on the bench and collecting a starter's paycheck.
2. Malcolm Koonce (1 year/ $12 million)
Koonce was a candidate for an extension until he tore his ACL before last season. While he is still an ultra-talented player, he's averaged just two pressures per game in 2025 and has only one sack. His 14.6% pass-rush win rate is strong enough, but he's just not impacting games like he used to. If he can pick it up, he could strike a small extension. If not, it's a good thing he signed a "prove it" deal.
3. Isaiah Pola-Mao (2 years/ $7.45 million)
Pola-Mao's contract is still pretty team-friendly, as his $3.73 million average annual salary is well below market for a starting safety. However, Las Vegas is learning the hard way that you get what you pay for. Granted, the Raiders are playing him a bit out of position, but he's struggled thus far in 2025.
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4. Adam Butler (3 years/ $16.5 million)
Butler sipped from the fountain of youth before coming to Las Vegas in 2023, putting together two great campaigns and earning every penny of this extension. But he's been a disappointment in 2025 thus far, as he's also adjusting to a slightly different role than years past.
5. Geno Smith (2 year/ $75 million extension)
Smith was considered an absolute bargain at a price of $37.5 million annually, but now this deal seems like an investment the Raiders are going broke on. He's looked nothing like the quarterback that Las Vegas paid him to be, and he might not play out his extension if things keep up this way.