The Las Vegas Raiders made no shortage of mistakes during the 2025 NFL offseason. Not the least of which was the failure to properly address the linebacker position after letting both Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo walk in free agency.
First-year general manager John Spytek's solution to this issue was to sign a slew of aging veterans like Devin White, Elandon Roberts, Jaylon Smith, and eventually, Jamal Adams and Germaine Pratt. Smith was cut rather quickly, Pratt didn't last until the bye, and the other three were underwhelming.
White, in particular, was a sore spot for Raider Nation, as they grew frustrated with his poor coverage skills and missed tackles. Luckily, Las Vegas just signed former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean in free agency, which should end the White nightmare fans lived through in 2025.
Raiders' Nakobe Dean signing should end Devin White experiment
Signing Dean, especially paired with the news that linebacker Quay Walker is also coming to Las Vegas, should end any conversations about White returning to the Silver and Black for the 2026 NFL season. There simply isn't room, nor is there the need, for his talents anymore.
Now, the Raiders' linebacker room consists of Dean, Walker, Tommy Eichenberg and Cody Lindenberg. It is unlikely that Las Vegas wants to carry more than five linebackers, six at most, and they shouldn't leave April's draft without a young player in what is supposed to be a deep class.
The math just simply isn't in White's favor as it pertains to making the Raiders' roster. Perhaps, due to his prior relationship with Spytek that brought him to Las Vegas in the first place, he takes another incredibly cheap deal and tries to fight his way onto the end of the roster.
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But White wouldn't be written in pen as a starting linebacker before the draft even begins, like he was a season ago. That should go a long way in giving Raider Nation confidence about the direction of this defense, if last year's starters are already an afterthought just months later.
White wasn't completely devoid of contributions. In fact, in his two biggest performances (Week 1 and Week 6), Las Vegas pulled out victories. But it was the fact that he only had two notable performances that so often had Raiders fans equating his performances to the team losing.
It was never all White's fault. Not even close. But he left a hole in the middle of the defense far too often, and Spytek took exactly one day of free agency to patch up that hole and admit his previous mistake.