After the one-year disaster that was the Pete Carroll era in Las Vegas, the Silver and Black are getting what they hope will be a welcome cleanse with Klint Kubiak and a credible coaching staff in place. Kubiak will also be aligned with general manager John Spytek in a way that Carroll never was.
The player holdovers from last season are getting a clean slate under Kubiak. No. 1 on that particular list has to be guard Jackson Powers-Johnson, who somehow ran afoul of Carroll and his unqualified offensive line coach son last year. He also, apparently, never got a clear explanation for why.
Raider Nation is not going to hold how last season went for Powers-Johnson against him. But he also has to prove it was an anomaly as he works under a third coaching staff in as many seasons. At a certain point, coaches fade away as the primary problem for a player failing to reach his potential.
Entering training camp, Powers-Johnson is the favorite to start at right guard. He should be able to confirm his status as the best man for the job relatively easily, but there's a chance, for whatever reason(s) may come about, that things go pear-shaped.
Raiders trading Jackson Powers-Johnson would mean something went terribly wrong at camp
Moe Moton of Bleacher Report has proposed one trade each NFL team should consider before the 2026 NFL season starts. For the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, it's acquiring Powers-Johnson from the Raiders for a mid-round pick in 2027.
"If Powers-Johnson doesn't earn a starting job at guard, head coach Klint Kubiak may be willing to give his former team a parting gift. Powers-Johnson could play his natural position at center in Seattle, which won't happen in Las Vegas with three-time Pro Bowler Tyler Linderbaum in that spot."
The idea of Kubiak giving the Seahawks a "parting gift" was surely offered in jest by Moton; Kubiak's allegiance is now to Las Vegas, and he won't be doing anyone else any favors. However, it would be a nice situation for Powers-Johnson, all things considered, if it did come to fruition.
If Powers-Johnson were to lose the starting job at right guard for the Raiders and be destined to ride the pine during the regular season, it would likely mean that he was injured again or he woefully underachieved during training camp. This is not an ideal scenario for the Silver and Black.
Either case would also negatively impact his potential trade value to the point that other teams may not be overly inclined to make a deal for him, at least not a lucrative one for the Raiders. But there also could be a "we can fix him" vibe for several teams around the league. That remains to be seen.
Powers-Johnson was regarded as a potential first-round pick before falling to the Raiders in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. After a strong rookie season, it felt like a coup that Las Vegas landed him, but it has been nothing but uncertainty since then.
For him not to make it to the third year of his rookie contract before being traded would be quite a disappointment for everyone involved. There's a non-zero chance that's how it goes down, though, in what would be a worst-case scenario, however it looks.
A mid-round pick may be enough to let everyone have a fresh start, but Raider Nation doesn't necessarily want this kind of disaster scenario to strike at camp.
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