The Las Vegas Raiders hired a peculiar leadership tandem this offseason. Pete Carroll is 74 years old and has been around the block as a head coach, but, based on his age, he clearly wants to win now. John Spytek, however, is a first-time general manager who knew this team would take years to build.
These conflicting philosophies led to a weird roster makeup that is neither producing results now nor invoking hope for the future. But it's been clear through the offseason and the first seven weeks of the 2025 NFL season that Carroll is the one steering the ship and making the decisions.
On Monday, the Raiders signed veteran wide receiver Tyler Lockett. This is not only the kiss of death for Jakobi Meyers, but it has Carroll's fingerprints all over it, and it is emblematic of the veteran coach not learning anything this year, despite an embarrassing 2-5 start to the campaign.
Pete Carroll keeps making the same costly mistakes for Raiders
When Las Vegas signed Lockett, it should have immediately reminded Raider Nation of the team adding Amari Cooper just before the season. This reunion fell flat on its face almost immediately, as Cooper retired after 10 days with the team, never playing in a game.
Lockett spent the first nine years of his career playing with the Seattle Seahawks under Carroll, so, clearly, the aging coach pulled the strings to have yet another over-the-hill wide receiver join the fold in Las Vegas, despite the last one not working out at all.
Las Vegas has signed several other players past their prime this offseason, like Geno Smith, Raheem Mostert, Alex Cappa, Elandon Roberts and Devin White. None of these players has made that positive of an impact for the Raiders, so it defies logic that the team keeps adding older guys.
The Raiders desperately need an influx of young talent, but instead, they keep signing players who clearly don't factor into the long-term rebuild that the team needs to undergo. Plus, Lockett's presence will limit opportunities for rookie wide receivers Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr.
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Carroll is clearly in charge of the personnel, or at the very least, has too big a say in it. The roster now has six former Seahawks: Lockett, Smith, Stone Forsythe, Kyu Blu Kelly, Jamal Adams and Jon Rhattigan, and there's been very little production from this group.
While Carroll did not bring in Kelly, he's given him far too long a leash, and fans can only assume it is because of their prior relationship in Seattle. Smith has also been a travesty for the Raiders this year, and yet, he continues to start.
Adams has played surprisingly well in Las Vegas, but Forsythe has struggled immensely filling in for Kolton Miller. Forsythe should be supplanted by rookie Charles Grant, but the Raiders are clearly fine dying on the former-Seahawk hill.
Rhattigan has also been fairly invisible, albeit just playing special teams, but he's taking away valuable reps from young linebackers who could be long-term options. It's unknown how Lockett will play, but his being ranked 128th out of 132 wideouts in separation rate this season is not a positive sign.
It could not be clearer that the Raiders need a youth movement, and as such, they should stop signing old players on the decline. Seahawk reunions haven't exactly been panning out well in Las Vegas either, but yet, Carroll signed Lockett, who falls into both categories.
Raider Nation is still scarred from Josh McDaniels trying to bring the "Patriot Way" to Las Vegas, and Carroll's mistakes are further proving that the Silver and Black just need to build their own team from the ground up. But Carroll's signing of Lockett indicates that he has not yet learned this lesson.