What the Raiders need.....2026
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STHfrontrow
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What the Raiders need.....2026
Next year the Raiders need to hire an up and coming offensive coach who has earned the opportunity to be a head coach. No more retreads or coaches who haven't worked their way up through the coaching farm. They tried hiring Ben Johnson and when that didn't succeed fell back on Pete Carroll. Hopefully we have better luck next year.
Draft a QB that can pair with the coach. No need for a retread QB unless a really great option becomes available (Stafford this year would've been great but was a pipe dream). I wouldn't mind AOC battling out the newly drafted rookie in camp.
Build the offensive line with the 2nd rd pick, through free agency, and a few we still have under contract. This is the most important step and hopefully the new coach can get a stellar O-line coach. IF Miller needs to be traded due to cap and his age I'm ok with that trade. Biggest issue is that the O-line needs to be the off season focus.
The defense also needs some help through free agency.
Draft a QB that can pair with the coach. No need for a retread QB unless a really great option becomes available (Stafford this year would've been great but was a pipe dream). I wouldn't mind AOC battling out the newly drafted rookie in camp.
Build the offensive line with the 2nd rd pick, through free agency, and a few we still have under contract. This is the most important step and hopefully the new coach can get a stellar O-line coach. IF Miller needs to be traded due to cap and his age I'm ok with that trade. Biggest issue is that the O-line needs to be the off season focus.
The defense also needs some help through free agency.
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WolfRaider
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Sold My Soul wrote: Sat Nov 29, 2025 8:05 pm This is too fcking easy.
What the Raiders need is a new ownership.
Nothing else matters.
Have we not got that… I mean we have Brady and his business partner who own Birmingham City…
And other minority owners?
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Cruisin with Tooz
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Isnt this at odds with what you wrote 2 days ago?Attyla wrote: Wed Dec 03, 2025 11:02 am Your scenario says we have the top spot and are offered 3 firsts. If we have the top pick, as weak as this QB class is overall, the top guys are still worth taking, so I take one of the top 2 rated guys.
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Attyla
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not at all, while I do not feel the QB class is strong and Mendoza may not be the strongest, you do have to take a shot and the top QB needs to be that guy. If he fails, you go again. Ward has looked like utter dogshit but he was the right choice whether he pans out or not. At least they tried to get their guy.
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Attyla
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in your scenario, we have the top spot so we take the QB this year. In his, we do not so he is proposing taking an Olineman. In his, we are not going to get 3 firsts if we trade out, no way anyone is offering that for an also ran first rounder.Cruisin with Tooz wrote: Wed Dec 03, 2025 2:25 pm Thats much better! But how will you get your qb next year? Those future 1sts are what would allow you to get your qb in a deeper draft next year if you dont finish with a top pick. The net effect of that trade would be trading this year's 1st pick for next year's 1st pick.
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HesterLayes
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If we take anything outside a QB in the top five or so that would be a huge mistake. Get your main guy for Brock and Jeanty. Fix the online in FA and after the QB in the draft
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WolfRaider
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How you fix the raiders in one offseason:
HC-Klint Kubiak
DC- Failed HC but good DC (Raheem Morris/John Gannon)
O-line coach- one that’s actually good, maybe resign Carmen Bricillo!!
Spend big on FA (we have the cap space)
Two starting O-line signings!!
-Brady Christienson and Alisha Vera-Tucker for example.
Starting level edge
-Boye Mafe
Two new starting linebackers!
-Quincy Williams and Nate Landman for example!!
Get a nickel cornerback!!
-Cor’Dale Flott one of the best in the league at nickel and he’s still young!!
A true free safety!
Ronnie Hickman or Alohi Gilman
Then if you can add one or two of the huge name FAs on top of all that-
Jamal Dean
Devin Lloyd
Leo Chanel
George Pickens
Tyler Linderbaum
(Tired not to pick the best available players in the positions to make it more realistic)
Even look to trade day 3 picks for vets. Daron Payne for example!
Draft
Stick and pick QB round 1
Go heavy on defence
HC-Klint Kubiak
DC- Failed HC but good DC (Raheem Morris/John Gannon)
O-line coach- one that’s actually good, maybe resign Carmen Bricillo!!
Spend big on FA (we have the cap space)
Two starting O-line signings!!
-Brady Christienson and Alisha Vera-Tucker for example.
Starting level edge
-Boye Mafe
Two new starting linebackers!
-Quincy Williams and Nate Landman for example!!
Get a nickel cornerback!!
-Cor’Dale Flott one of the best in the league at nickel and he’s still young!!
A true free safety!
Ronnie Hickman or Alohi Gilman
Then if you can add one or two of the huge name FAs on top of all that-
Jamal Dean
Devin Lloyd
Leo Chanel
George Pickens
Tyler Linderbaum
(Tired not to pick the best available players in the positions to make it more realistic)
Even look to trade day 3 picks for vets. Daron Payne for example!
Draft
Stick and pick QB round 1
Go heavy on defence
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Dr Death
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Kinda depends on who is available in FA??? I'd take a QB.... or two in the draft, then, go almost strictly line on both sides. Maybe a CB if there is one worth taking.I know we need WR's, but those can be had in FA as well.HesterLayes wrote: Wed Dec 03, 2025 3:51 pm If we take anything outside a QB in the top five or so that would be a huge mistake. Get your main guy for Brock and Jeanty. Fix the online in FA and after the QB in the draft
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HesterLayes
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They are always a few that hit FA and I’d get them even if they are a little older…also the trade route is a good approach.fix the QB and OL and the rest will fall into placeDr Death wrote: Wed Dec 03, 2025 5:00 pm Kinda depends on who is available in FA??? I'd take a QB.... or two in the draft, then, go almost strictly line on both sides. Maybe a CB if there is one worth taking.I know we need WR's, but those can be had in FA as well.
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RaiderLifer
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WolfRaider wrote: Wed Dec 03, 2025 4:55 pm How you fix the raiders in one offseason:
HC-Klint Kubiak
DC- Failed HC but good DC (Raheem Morris/John Gannon)
O-line coach- one that’s actually good, maybe resign Carmen Bricillo!!
Spend big on FA (we have the cap space)
Two starting O-line signings!!
-Brady Christienson and Alisha Vera-Tucker for example.
Starting level edge
-Boye Mafe
Two new starting linebackers!
-Quincy Williams and Nate Landman for example!!
Get a nickel cornerback!!
-Cor’Dale Flott one of the best in the league at nickel and he’s still young!!
A true free safety!
Ronnie Hickman or Alohi Gilman
Then if you can add one or two of the huge name FAs on top of all that-
Jamal Dean
Devin Lloyd
Leo Chanel
George Pickens
Tyler Linderbaum
(Tired not to pick the best available players in the positions to make it more realistic)
Even look to trade day 3 picks for vets. Daron Payne for example!
Draft
Stick and pick QB round 1
Go heavy on defence
I like that you have a complete plan here. I’m not sure all those FA’s will fit under the cap, but it’s a nice plan that addresses many needs.
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HesterLayes
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https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents
I’d start by overpaying Linderbaum and getting the center position settled…Walker at RT would be nice as well.
Point is…there are obvious improvements out there and we need to overpay to help our rook QB and Jeanty
I’d start by overpaying Linderbaum and getting the center position settled…Walker at RT would be nice as well.
Point is…there are obvious improvements out there and we need to overpay to help our rook QB and Jeanty
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Dr Death
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I'm not sure anything "falls" into place with this teamHesterLayes wrote: Wed Dec 03, 2025 5:20 pm They are always a few that hit FA and I’d get them even if they are a little older…also the trade route is a good approach.fix the QB and OL and the rest will fall into place
. I'm a line guy. Nothing works if the lines aren't up to snuff.
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Sold My Soul
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I thought the Raiders should have traded Crosby last offseason. I'm even more convinced they should trade him this offseason while his value is still high...
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The in-season trade deadline may have passed by a few weeks ago, but trade rumors are a 24/7, 365 kind of thing around here. If we’ve learned anything about the NFL in the past few years, it’s that teams are more willing to be aggressive and creative than at any point in a long, long time.
With time to mull things over and start to look ahead to 2026, there were more players who popped as potential trade candidates — beyond the list of eight who came up as first glance earlier this month. Here’s a look at another batch of big names who might end up on the move:
Raiders DE Maxx Crosby
The Raiders have been turning down trade interest in Crosby for two years now, including at the trade deadline in both 2024 and 2025. But eventually if the league keeps knocking, perhaps the door will crack open — especially because it’s looking more and more like Crosby will be playing for his fourth different head coach in four years in 2026. Crosby has seen just one winning season in seven years in Las Vegas, and the Raiders look poised for another rebuilding year in his eighth.
So far, Crosby has elected not to push for a trade, saying that he wants to be part of bringing the glory days back to the Raiders. The team has done its part to make sure Crosby’s loyalty is rewarded, too, either signing him to a new deal or modified contract in three of the past four seasons. The most recent was a three-year, $106.5 million extension this past offseason, before he’d even played a down for HC Pete Carroll and GM John Spytek.
Ordinarily deals like that would preclude any trade because of the dead money left behind from signing bonuses and restructures. However, that’s not the case for Crosby. Trading him in 2026 would leave just $5 million in dead money and save the Raiders the entirety of Crosby’s $30 million guaranteed salary. It’s similar to the contract for Jets CB Sauce Gardner which didn’t preclude New York from dealing him just a few months after inking him to a market-setting deal. Teams took note of how the Jets structured Gardner’s deal and you can bet they’ve made the same observation with Crosby and the Raiders.
There are two ways Crosby could end up on the block. The first is if the veteran reaches his limit with all the losing and starts applying pressure on the front office to send him out of town. His leverage isn’t great with four years left on his contract; however, teams tend to want players who are bought in and want to be there. While Crosby can’t force a trade, his voice does matter in the situation.
The Raiders could also decide on their own that dealing Crosby makes the most sense for where they are as an organization. Crosby is a foundational piece — one of the league’s elite pass rushers and also one of the hardest working, highest-effort players in the building. That’s why the Raiders have rebuffed so much trade interest in the past and why Carroll and Spytek were willing to give him a massive deal before seeing him play a snap in their program. But the 2-10 record so far this year has exposed the vast multitude of roster holes the Raiders need to patch, and the front office has seemingly accepted that it’s facing a multi-year rebuild.
Crosby turns 29 next August and is still in his peak. The question the Raiders have to ask, though, is what he projects to look like in two or three years when they’re closer to being competitive. And in that scenario, does it make more sense to trade him for a haul of picks that could be used on players who would be contributors for longer?
This is the same calculus the Jets went through when they elected to blow things up at the trade deadline this past year. Like the Jets, the Raiders have a first-year general manager looking to make his mark. This is why teams are going to keep calling and giving the Raiders something to think about when it comes to trading Crosby, and at some point the team might just pull the trigger.
.........
The in-season trade deadline may have passed by a few weeks ago, but trade rumors are a 24/7, 365 kind of thing around here. If we’ve learned anything about the NFL in the past few years, it’s that teams are more willing to be aggressive and creative than at any point in a long, long time.
With time to mull things over and start to look ahead to 2026, there were more players who popped as potential trade candidates — beyond the list of eight who came up as first glance earlier this month. Here’s a look at another batch of big names who might end up on the move:
Raiders DE Maxx Crosby
The Raiders have been turning down trade interest in Crosby for two years now, including at the trade deadline in both 2024 and 2025. But eventually if the league keeps knocking, perhaps the door will crack open — especially because it’s looking more and more like Crosby will be playing for his fourth different head coach in four years in 2026. Crosby has seen just one winning season in seven years in Las Vegas, and the Raiders look poised for another rebuilding year in his eighth.
So far, Crosby has elected not to push for a trade, saying that he wants to be part of bringing the glory days back to the Raiders. The team has done its part to make sure Crosby’s loyalty is rewarded, too, either signing him to a new deal or modified contract in three of the past four seasons. The most recent was a three-year, $106.5 million extension this past offseason, before he’d even played a down for HC Pete Carroll and GM John Spytek.
Ordinarily deals like that would preclude any trade because of the dead money left behind from signing bonuses and restructures. However, that’s not the case for Crosby. Trading him in 2026 would leave just $5 million in dead money and save the Raiders the entirety of Crosby’s $30 million guaranteed salary. It’s similar to the contract for Jets CB Sauce Gardner which didn’t preclude New York from dealing him just a few months after inking him to a market-setting deal. Teams took note of how the Jets structured Gardner’s deal and you can bet they’ve made the same observation with Crosby and the Raiders.
There are two ways Crosby could end up on the block. The first is if the veteran reaches his limit with all the losing and starts applying pressure on the front office to send him out of town. His leverage isn’t great with four years left on his contract; however, teams tend to want players who are bought in and want to be there. While Crosby can’t force a trade, his voice does matter in the situation.
The Raiders could also decide on their own that dealing Crosby makes the most sense for where they are as an organization. Crosby is a foundational piece — one of the league’s elite pass rushers and also one of the hardest working, highest-effort players in the building. That’s why the Raiders have rebuffed so much trade interest in the past and why Carroll and Spytek were willing to give him a massive deal before seeing him play a snap in their program. But the 2-10 record so far this year has exposed the vast multitude of roster holes the Raiders need to patch, and the front office has seemingly accepted that it’s facing a multi-year rebuild.
Crosby turns 29 next August and is still in his peak. The question the Raiders have to ask, though, is what he projects to look like in two or three years when they’re closer to being competitive. And in that scenario, does it make more sense to trade him for a haul of picks that could be used on players who would be contributors for longer?
This is the same calculus the Jets went through when they elected to blow things up at the trade deadline this past year. Like the Jets, the Raiders have a first-year general manager looking to make his mark. This is why teams are going to keep calling and giving the Raiders something to think about when it comes to trading Crosby, and at some point the team might just pull the trigger.
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Toast
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Just like the baseball adage raise pitching-buy bats.
Shore up the OL via free agency.
Draft a QB, draft two QB's, draft three f[raiders_icon]cking QB's but get a QB.
The second one will not matter much if the first one isn't addressed.
Shore up the OL via free agency.
Draft a QB, draft two QB's, draft three f[raiders_icon]cking QB's but get a QB.
The second one will not matter much if the first one isn't addressed.
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WolfRaider
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RaiderLifer wrote: Wed Dec 03, 2025 5:25 pm I like that you have a complete plan here. I’m not sure all those FA’s will fit under the cap, but it’s a nice plan that addresses many needs.
Not with the PREMIUM guys, but have 6 guys this year on more money than Chip Kelly…. 6!
We do have 120m cap space available (expected cap) but can free up 8m releasing Geno and 5m with cappa released.