The Las Vegas Raiders are entering a new era yet again following the decision to fire head coach Pete Carroll. Luckily, they won’t also need to find a new general manager this time around.
The Raiders decided to keep general manager John Spytek, which means the football operations for the team won’t slow down. While his biggest focus is on helping find the next head coach, there are also many players on the practice squad who just became free agents.
They are free to sign with other teams, but the Raiders will likely want to go into the offseason with many of them in the building. According to NFL agent Brett Tessler, the Raiders have made their first signing of the post-Carroll era.
Offensive lineman Dalton Wagner has signed a contract to remain with the franchise.
The 6-foot-8 offensive tackle joined the Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2023. He finally got a chance to play his first game as a pro this season, but he only got on the field for two snaps. The Raiders clearly like him, as he’s been brought back by multiple regimes, so perhaps this could be the year he finally gets a chance to play extended snaps.
Spytek Appears to Have Control Over Roster
In the Raiders’ statement on the Carroll firing, owner Mark Davis made it clear that Spytek is in charge of football operations going forward. That would suggest that he didn’t have total control while Carroll was the head coach.
That’s not a surprise. Carroll also had a lot of power when he was with the Seattle Seahawks. However, it rarely works when head coaches also try to be general managers.
It’s unclear what moves this season were Carroll-driven or Spytek-driven, but the pairing wasn’t working. Spytek will now have a chance to prove that the Raiders made the right decision to empower him.
Ashton Jeanty Breaks Raiders Rookie Record
Ashton Jeanty’s rookie season wasn’t always easy. He was widely considered the favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, but he had a much harder time making plays than he did in college.
Even with the disappointing rookie season, Jeanty was still able to do some good things. During the Week 18 win against the Kansas City Chiefs, Jeanty got his total yards from scrimmage to 1,321 yards, which is a Raiders rookie record. Josh Jacobs previously held the record, but now it’s Jeanty’s.
“It’s wonderful, obviously,” Jeanty said after the Chiefs win, via Raiders.com. “It’s always great to break a record. But it just shows, you know, there’s still light in what I would say is darkness right now.
“It’s only going to get better. … It’s something I can build off of, and all the guys around me, [too]. So I’m just extremely thankful and grateful to be able to accomplish all of that.”
Jeanty should be much better with stronger pieces around him, and the Raiders should feel good about having their running back of the future to pair with a quarterback that they will likely take with the No. 1 pick this year.
Raiders Make First Roster Move After Firing Pete Carroll