Raiders' flier on free agent Jaylon Smith is a sign of an unsettled linebacker corps

New York Times

13-05-2025

HENDERSON, Nev. — It made sense that the Las Vegas Raiders' 2025 draft picks practicing for the first time received most of the attention at rookie minicamp last week, but coach Pete Carroll was also considering making changes to the roster. The Raiders had over 70 players participate in the three-day camp, including undrafted rookies and veterans vying for roster spots.
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On Monday, after the front office had time to deliberate, the Raiders made a series of transactions. They let go of receivers Tyreik McAllister and Kristian Wilkerson, offensive tackle Dominic Boyd, defensive tackle Matthew Butler and linebackers Brandon Smith and Amari Burney. Those moves made room to sign receivers Ketron Jackson Jr. and Key'Shawn Smith, defensive end Jahfari Harvey, linebackers Jaylon Smith and Wesley Steiner and safety Jonathan Sutherland.
Of the newcomers, Jaylon Smith stood out the most. The soon-to-be 30-year-old was once a Pro Bowl-caliber linebacker, but he spent 2024 out of football. Ironically, his last game action came when he played one game for the Raiders in 2023. Smith has familiarity with defensive coordinator Patrick Graham's system. Besides his brief stint in 2023, he started 11 games for the New York Giants when Graham was their DC back in 2022. That was the last time he played multiple games in a season. It's hard to know what to make of Smith at this point in his career. The last time he played significant snaps, he was inconsistent both as a run defender and in pass coverage.
The fact that the Raiders are still taking a flier on him speaks to the precarious situation in their linebacker corps. After losing starters Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo in free agency, they signed Elandon Roberts and Devin White, who would likely be the starters if the season began today.
'Devin, obviously, I have a ton of familiarity from my time in Tampa with him,' general manager John Spytek said in March. 'I still maintain that, other than Von Miller in the Super Bowl run in 2015, what Devin did in the 2020 playoffs is the best I've ever seen a defensive player play. It was incredible.'
Roberts has been a solid starting mike linebacker for years now. Defensive line coach Rob Leonard overlapped with Roberts in Miami for two seasons when he was an assistant on the Dolphins staff. Assistant defensive line coach Kenyon Jackson also coached him with the Dolphins in 2021, and defensive assistant/linebackers coach Ty McKenzie worked with him on the Dolphins in 2022, so there's plenty of familiarity with the coaching staff.
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'Knowing some people in the building brings a certain level of calmness,' Roberts said in March.
A major blemish in Roberts' game has been pass coverage. That's largely why he's never played more than 59 percent of his team's defensive snaps in a single season. To be a difference maker, he'll need to shore up that area of his game.
'Being physical and being that type of player, you have to take into account that teams know that,' Roberts said. 'When you're a downhill guy, they might do a lot of play action, a lot of bootlegs, they'll try to slow you down by doing draw plays and stuff like that. So, you've just got to be cognizant of that.'
White hardly played last season and hasn't been an effective starter since 2022. Not only has he struggled in pass coverage, but he has also fallen off as a run defender and pass rusher.
'I know what he's capable of,' Spytek said. 'He's had a little bit of a rough spot in his career here, but he's 27 and he's a good dude. It's good to give him a chance to maybe revitalize himself a bit. … We see Elandon as the mike (linebacker) and Devin as the will. They're two guys that can run and hit you and love to play.'
Despite Spytek's encouraging words, linebacker stood out as a major need for the Raiders entering the draft. Despite that, they passed on addressing the position until they took Cody Lindenberg of Minnesota in the seventh round.
'I'm athletic and intelligent. I think I can do everything on the football field that linebackers are required to do and more,' Lindenberg said last month. 'Knowing my keys (and) taking the first step in the right direction before anybody else does on the football field. So then once I get in that right spot, I'll be able to make the play with my hard work and God-given abilities.'
Learn more about one of the leaders and driving forces behind Minnesota's defense: Cody Lindenberg.#RaiderNationhttps://t.co/n1HZ3QxoNi
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) April 27, 2025
Lindenberg has good size at 6-foot-2, 236 pounds, and was a three-year starter at mike linebacker in college. He has the speed and athleticism to hang at will linebacker, which is where he has a clearer path to carving out a role.
'I think he's a great fit,' Raiders director of college scouting Brandon Yeargan said last month. 'He's a high-character, high-intangible guy. He's tough, he's competitive. I think he's got really good value in the kicking game, too, so I think he's going to be a good addition to that room.'
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Lindenberg is part of a group of wildly inexperienced linebackers on the roster. Tommy Eichenberg and Amari Gainer are second-year players who made the 53-man roster last season but barely played. Then there are three UDFAs in Matt Jones, Jailin Walker and Steiner.
In an ideal world, one of those young linebackers would grow into a starting-caliber player. If that doesn't happen, however, then the Raiders will need a career resurgence from Smith and/or White.
The Raiders entered the offseason with more holes than they could realistically fill with outside additions. Essentially, they're betting on the developmental skills of Carroll and the coaching staff to bridge the gaps.
'This is not a different process than the last couple times I had a shot at it,' Carroll said in February. 'We've got a lot of philosophy and approach that is unique to the way we do things. That takes some time to get that going. The urgency is there. It's so obvious. But yet, there's so much teaching and learning that's going on that's really exciting to me. So we'll see how it goes.'