The Las Vegas Raiders finally seem to be stable ahead of the 2025 NFL season under a new tandem of head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek. In the years since moving to Las Vegas, however, the team's leadership and quarterback position have been a revolving door.
Geno Smith is also a stabilizing force, but despite finally having competency in the most important positions in the franchise, the Raiders are still being plagued by the decisions of previous regimes. Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler, in particular, did immense damage to the organization.
While Jon Gruden and Antonio Pierce certainly hurt the Silver and Black in their own ways, McDaniels and Ziegler are still responsible for three of the team's top five dead cap hits for the 2025 season. To no surprise, the Raiders' worst contract this year is one that these two staked their claim on.
Jimmy Garoppolo is still costing the Raiders money
The Raiders signed quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a three-year, $72.75 million deal before the 2023 NFL season, but he only played in seven games for them before being benched. He was on the Rams for the entirety of last season and has not started a game for Las Vegas since October 2023.
Still, however, Garoppolo has a dead cap hit of $12.8 million this season for the Raiders, making him the team's worst contract in 2025. Davante Adams and Gardner Minshew have dead cap hits of $15.7 million and $7.7 million, respectively, but at least both started for the team as recently as last season.
Garoppolo played well for the San Francisco 49ers under head coach Kyle Shanahan, and before that, he was a solid backup for the New England Patriots under McDaniels, the offensive coordinator. His signing made sense at the time, but it panned out in a way things typically do for the Silver and Black.
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In his six starts with the Raiders, Garoppolo completed 65.5% of his passes, but threw for only 1,205 yards and seven touchdowns compared to nine interceptions. The offense also did not eclipse 20 points during his time as the starter.
2023 third-round pick Byron Young is the team's fifth-highest dead cap hit at $561,000, and center Andre James, now with their AFC West division rival Los Angeles Chargers, has a dead cap hit of $7.3 million this season.
Las Vegas is much better off now with Smith under center, Carroll as the head coach and Chip Kelly as the team's offensive coordinator. With Ashton Jeanty now in the backfield and a slew of exciting rookie wideouts, the future of the Raiders is finally bright.