Ideally a new regime gets complete buy-in from players, starting with voluntary offseason work that a coach might tell you is practically mandatory. Of course we don't live in Never-Never Land, so it doesn't always work that way.
The Las Vegas Raiders started their offseason program this past week. No on-field work is being done, and it's purely voluntary. But notable absences are notable absences, and on Wednesday ESPN's Jeremy Fowler was first to report left tackle Kolton Miller was not participating.
"#Raiders LT Kolton Miller is not currently participating in the voluntary offseason program as he seeks a contract extension, per source.
Miller, 29, is a seven-year starter and 2026 free agent. Las Vegas has not engaged in contract talks with the former first-round pick."
Miller has been a Raider for so long he was drafted by former GM Reggie McKenzie in the first year of Jon Gruden's second stint as head coach (2018). He was an easily-critiqued first-round pick (No. 15 overall), but he has been a steady presence on an otherwise fairly moribund offensive line. Pro Football Focus has graded him as a top-15 offensive tackle in the league in each of the last four seasons.
Up to now, Miller has not been in the headlines for anything close to the wrong reasons.
Raiders insider invites unfortunate outcome with Kolton Miller
It's easy for fans to overreact and take things all kinds of directions, but the basic reality is it's only April and there is a lot of time for the Raiders and Miller to get a deal done. And again, he didn't show up for the start of voluntary offseason work that is naturally not all that important.
After reports Miller was absent from the start of the Raiders' offseason program, Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal spent some time talking Raiders' fans off the ledge in deference to it only being mid-April and the conditioning phase of the offseason.
On Thursday's edition of Raider Nation Radio's Morning Tailgate, Bonsignore turned the sentiment about Miller in a far less-optimistic direction.
"This is the second straight year that he’s gone into a season with a non-guaranteed salary. I’ve been told that he probably would have done this last year, as well, but he was rehabbing this time last year, so it was kind of a moot point,” Bonsignore said. “He wasn’t even able to get onto the field [during] OTAs or the workouts otherwise. That aside, you know, is it a concern? I think there is a little bit of a concern that there’s the potential of his days here being on an expiration date, let’s put it that way.”
"It was made very clear to me yesterday that no contract talks have begun", Bongsignore continued. "That doesn’t mean contract talks can’t begin or won’t begin, but they haven’t begun. And that’s a little bit conspicuous and maybe telling. It could be telling. People that I talked to in the NFL say, ‘Look, the Raiders have a lot of cap space and the fact that contract talks haven’t started yet… what does that tell you about what they may be thinking about Kolton Miller moving forward?'”
Miller signed a three-year, $54 million contract extension with the Raiders in 2023. That $18 million per year average is now 13th among left tackles, and Bonsignore noted none of his $12.25 million base salary for 2025 is guaranteed.
Miller's contract situation is something the Raiders are certainly aware of, to the point his absence from the start of offseason work was probably not a huge surprise. But contract talks have apparently not even started, and Bonsignore acknowledged what that seems to mean.
“I’ll say this. Kolton Miller was a priority for the previous regime", Bonsignore said. "He was somebody that, if you’re talking about a to-do list for this off season, Kolton Miller would have been somebody that they wanted to get extended. But those decision makers aren’t even in the building anymore. So, it’s no longer what the organization six months ago thought. It’s what the organization now thinks.”
If the Raiders take an offensive tackle with the sixth overall pick in the draft, or even in the second round at pick No. 37, trade speculation around Miller will naturally ramp up. Only time will tell what happens, but the range of outcomes has to include Miller possibly having already played his last game in Silver and Black.