The Las Vegas Raiders have endured plenty of struggles during their rough 2025 NFL season. The franchise is currently riding a ten-game losing streak with just one contest to go, and they're sitting at 2-14 after their 34-10 loss to the New York Giants in Week 17.
Las Vegas' main issue has, arguably, been its offensive line, which has been among the worst position rooms in the entire NFL. The unit has given up the second-most sacks, and the Raiders rank last in the league in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.
Despite his poor play, the Raiders have continued to play Stone Forsythe at left tackle since Kolton Miller landed on Injured Reserve in Week 4. The Raiders have missed a golden opportunity to properly evaluate rookie Charles Grant, and they're running out of time with just one game remaining.
The Raiders failed to take advantage of an opportunity to evaluate Charles Grant
Heading into Week 16, Pete Carroll claimed that the Raiders would like to get Grant more snaps after he played a career-high five offensive snaps in the team's previous outing. That has not been the case in the two games since those comments, however, as he has played just nine offensive snaps.
Meanwhile, Forsythe played all 54 offensive snaps again in Week 16 and struggled. In 26 pass pro reps, he allowed one sack, four hurries, and five pressures. His 41.2 Pro Football Focus grade, 55.6 run block grade, and 16.9 pass block grade were all the worst on the Raiders' offensive line.
Forsythe played 53 of 59 offensive snaps in Week 17, and he did play better, allowing just one hurry and one pressure. Forsythe posted a 77.7 PFF grade that actually ranked second on the team, while posting a 73.1 pass block grade and 78.1 run block grade. This has been a rarity for him.
It was Grant, however, who posted the best grade on the team in a career-high seven offensive snaps. His 84.0 PFF grade, 79.8 pass block grade, and 84.6 run block grade were all the Raiders' best against the Giants, proving that Grant needs more opportunities.
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It has been long overdue for Grant to take over at left tackle; however, it appears unlikely to happen at this stage. Miller is nearing his return from injured reserve, and, according to Carroll, his status remains up in the air for Week 18.
"He didn't make it back last week to full go, and he didn't look quite fully able to go. And he's worked hard. He's practicing with us, but he's getting limited reps. He's getting 2, 3 reps a period," Carroll said. "I think it's going to be a stretch, but we'll see how he feels and responds to it. It's really going to be up to him to see if he can show us that he can go. If he could, yeah, then he'll play, sure."
Miller did not play against the Giants, but if he can go in Week 18, he will rightfully take his place at the starting left tackle, making it even more unlikely that Grant gets significant reps. While the rookie is a swing tackle and could replace DJ Glaze, who has also struggled, that seems unlikely at this stage.
Instead, it appears that the Raiders will have missed a significant chance to get an extended look at the rookie offensive tackle this year. Making matters even more frustrating is that the offensive line has been terrible, and it has been clear for a while that 2025 was a lost year for the franchise.
Las Vegas could have used the second half of the season to evaluate its young players and identify its needs ahead of the offseason. Instead, Grant has played just 15 offensive snaps over the first 16 games. Heading into next year, Grant has almost no meaningful game action, which is malpractice.
The Raiders have just one more opportunity to give Grant considerable playing time. It remains to be seen if the coaching staff will make that move heading into their Week 18 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs. If Miller is back, they definitely won't. Based on history, they probably won't either way.