Free agency has been a bust for the Las Vegas Raiders but that doesn't mean this offseason is even close to being a failure. The biggest additions the team made happened before free agency with the hiring of Pete Carroll as head coach and the trade for quarterback Geno Smith.
Those two moves alone should significantly improve the Raiders this season. Though the team hasn't added many notable free agents and they've lost a few, many still believe they are big winners of the offseason.
Austin Mock of The Athletic listed the five biggest winners of the offseason and the Raiders were at the top of the list.
"I’m not sure how any list doesn’t include the Raiders at the top, or at the very least inside the top three, after landing Smith," Mock wrote. "The Raiders roster isn’t ready to compete for a playoff spot, especially in the vaunted AFC West, but they’ve solidified the sport’s most important position with a quarterback who has proven he can give you a solid floor as a league-average QB with the ability for more. And with quarterback (presumably) locked down for the next few seasons, new coach Pete Carroll can focus on acquiring talent to fill out the rest of the roster."
If the Chargers and Broncos can go from being bad teams in 2023 to playoff teams in 2024, then there's no reason the Raiders can't make a quick leap. They do need to nail the draft and add a few pieces but the team is headed in the right direction.
If the Raiders can find a starting running back, a starting cornerback and a WR1, they'll be a playoff team in 2025. That's obviously easier said than done but the Raiders aren't as far off as many would like you to believe.
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