Latest news with #ElandonRoberts
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Two-Time Super Bowl Champion Reveals Why He Joined Raiders
Two-Time Super Bowl Champion Reveals Why He Joined Raiders originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Las Vegas Raiders made several major changes during the 2025 NFL offseason. This was because the team brought in new leadership in the form of general manager John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll. Advertisement While the move to hire these two was praised around the league, several of the decisions that Spytek and Carroll made during free agency were met with skepticism from Raider Nation. Perhaps the most scrutinized choice was letting linebackers Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo find new homes and replacing them with cheap veterans like Elandon Roberts and Devin White. Both signed one-year deals with little-to-no guaranteed money. New Las Vegas Raiders LB Elandon Roberts (50).Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Roberts is a nine-year NFL veteran who won two Super Bowls with the New England Patriots in the the mid-2010s. He racked up 206 tackles and 4.0 sacks during his four-year stint with the Patriots before making stops with the Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers. Advertisement After two years with the Steelers, Roberts opted to join Las Vegas on a $3 million deal in March. On Tuesday, he was a guest on an episode of "The Rush With Maxx Crosby" and spoke about his decision to join the Raiders this offseason. "When I got that phone call to come to the Raiders and knowing what's being built, I was just like 'Yeah, no lie … I'm back feeling young,' Roberts said. 'Even in free agency, that's literally why I came to Vegas. Yeah I want to win a Super Bowl." Roberts has 13 playoff games under his belt and has 53 postseason tackles to his name. This kind of winning pedigree and experience will be pivotal to a Raiders team that is trying to find their footing in a brutal AFC conference. Advertisement All told, Roberts has over 600 career tackles in the NFL, 54 of which were for a loss. He has also tacked on 14.5 sacks, 12 passes defended, five forced fumbles and an 85-yard interception returned for a touchdown, which, coincidentally, came against Las Vegas in 2021. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham will, once again, have to teach a new linebacker how to operate in his defense. However, based on Roberts' NFL success and Graham's track record of getting the most out of his players, this should be a great pairing for the Silver and Black during the 2025 season. Related: Raiders Veteran LB Praises North Carolina Coach Bill Belichick Related: Maxx Crosby Casts Doubt on Travis Hunter's Two-Way Chances This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
New York Times
19-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Is Christian Wilkins healthy? 5 questions about the Raiders as OTAs kick off
HENDERSON, Nev. — For the first time this offseason, the Las Vegas Raiders will be able to hold a full practice with their entire squad when OTAs begin Monday. Coach Pete Carroll and his staff have been working on the basics through meetings and walk-throughs the past few weeks, but now they'll ramp things up to another level. Advertisement Reporters won't be allowed to attend Monday's session, but they'll be permitted to view the second practice Wednesday. Overall, the Raiders will have 10 voluntary OTA practices before mandatory minicamp from June 10 to 12. Here are five questions about the Raiders heading into OTAs. It's expected that Jeremy Chinn will start at strong safety and Isaiah Pola-Mao will be the free safety, but the rest of the back seven on defense will be an open competition. Though that's not inherently a bad thing, the Raiders need players to step up at a few key spots. "It's always being humble and it's always about family and football." @raiders safety Isaiah Pola-Mao is proud to represent his Samoan culture on and off the field @Isaiah_Pola_Mao ❤️#AANHPIHeritageMonth — NFL Network (@nflnetwork) May 16, 2025 At linebacker, the Raiders feel best about Elandon Roberts. Although his pass-coverage skills are subpar, he has proved to be a solid starting mike. At will linebacker, however, it's hard to identify an answer. Veterans Devin White and Jaylon Smith are around, but they haven't been productive starters in years. Second-year players Amari Gainer and Tommy Eichenberg have promise, but they didn't play enough last year to produce much of an evaluation. Seventh-round pick Cody Lindenberg and the group of undrafted rookies are unknown commodities. The Raiders have to be hoping for at least one of the young linebackers to stand out in OTAs. There also will be a four-way competition at outside cornerback between veterans Jakorian Bennett, Eric Stokes and Decamerion Richardson and rookie Darien Porter. Bennett played the best among the veterans last season, but he played just 10 games due to injury and has struggled to stay healthy in his short career. Stokes was OK last year but didn't make many plays on the ball. Richardson looked like a fish out of water in 12 games, but he has the size, speed and athleticism Carroll likes. Porter has a lot of potential and an exciting combination of size, speed and athleticism, but he's extremely raw and needs to develop. Bennett seems like the surest bet to be a starter, but the other spot is up for grabs. Advertisement At nickelback, the Raiders look shaky. Darnay Holmes rotated in at nickel last year but hasn't been a starting-caliber player for several years. Thomas Harper showed some flashes last year in limited action as a rookie, and perhaps he could offer more upside if his development continues. The Raiders have said publicly that there will be a competition at center, but Jackson Powers-Johnson will be the starter. Beyond that, there's a logjam of players at guard. Dylan Parham and Jordan Meredith started games for the Raiders last year and will be in the mix, but they'll have to fend off several newcomers in veteran Alex Cappa and rookie Caleb Rogers. Cappa is the early favorite to start at right guard largely because he easily has the most experience of the group, but he has dealt with injuries the last couple of years and has to prove he can be depended on. It'll essentially be a four-way competition at guard. Wilkins played just five games last season before suffering a Jones fracture in his left foot that required surgery and knocked him out for the rest of the year. His injured foot was placed in a walking boot, but he was out of it by the end of the season. Then, earlier this offseason, his foot was placed back in a boot, according to team sources. He was back out of the boot during OTA workouts recently, but the back-and-forth has raised questions about his recovery process. The Raiders have stayed quiet about Wilkins. Whether he's at practice or not — and what he's able to do if he's there — will provide more clarity. Other players of note coming off significant injuries are defensive end Maxx Crosby (tightrope surgery), defensive end Maxx Koonce (torn ACL) and Bennett (shoulder). This is Kelly's first time coaching in the NFL since he was fired as the San Francisco 49ers' coach in 2016. He was also the offensive play caller, and the results were disastrous. He fared better while calling plays as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 2013 to 2015, but he was fired there, too, because the results lagged toward the end of his tenure. He had significant personnel power with both franchises and didn't fare well in that area. Lastly, he struggled to foster positive relationships with his players. Advertisement Kelly doesn't have personnel power with the Raiders, but he'll still need to do a better job of game planning, calling plays and connecting with his players than he did the last time he was in the league. He showed he's capable of evolving his scheme during his one-year stint as Ohio State's offensive coordinator, which helped him land the Raiders' OC job. OTAs will provide a first glance at what his offense is going to look like. Smith revived his career when he took over as the Seattle Seahawks' starter in 2022 and played like a top-10 quarterback. His play was still solid in 2023 and 2024, but it was more average. After trading a third-round pick to acquire Smith and signing him to a lucrative extension, the Raiders are hoping to get more out of the 34-year-old in 2025. With a high level of intelligence, a strong arm, precise accuracy and good mobility, Smith is capable of making that happen. Plus, the offense has a nice collection of talent surrounding him, with running back Ashton Jeanty, tight end Brock Bowers and receiver Jakobi Meyers. The offense is far from perfect — the offensive line looks shaky on paper, and the receiver depth is questionable — but the Raiders paid Smith to overcome such deficiencies. OTAs don't mean everything, but it'll still be a reason for optimism if Smith excels over the next month. (Photo of Christian Wilkins: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
USA Today
13-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
LB Elandon Roberts' words on NFL longevity will have Raiders fans very excited to have him
Thursday the Raiders brought out several of their recent free agent additions for a press conference to introduce themselves to the media. Their new middle linebacker Elandon Roberts took to the podium last and it didn't take very long to realize the kind of prize the Raiders landed in the ten-year NFL linebacker. A few minutes into his press conference, I sent a message to USA Today Steelers Wire writer Curt Popejoy with a simple message "Damn. Elandon Roberts is an impressive dude." To which Popejoy responded simply "Indeed. He's a guy every team would want." In part it was the way he carries himself and the matter-of-fact way he speaks. It's the type of demeanor you always hope to see from a team leader and particular from your middle linebacker. One particular answer he gave said to me that Raiders fans are really going to like this guy. It was a question about what the secret to his longevity in the NFL. 'Not taking it for granted," Roberts said without hesitation. "Not taking your opponents for granted. Not taking what you do for granted. Not taking your teammates, your coaches, the relationships, even the relationships that you build with the media for granted. Because it all reflects on you and stuff like that. "One thing about myself, my dad's a military guy. So, I'm very structured, I'm very to the point. Up here right now, you guys might be like 'he doesn't look like a fun guy. He might just want to talk football' but it's not that, it's the standpoint that there's a time and a place for everything. If we don't keep the main thing, the main thing, y'all are going to tear me up (laughs) it's just a part of it. "I's not that I'm pinpointing you guys, I'm just throwing it out there that you guys have a job to do, obviously. And you want to see the organization have a good product out there each Sunday. So, it's my job to make sure that I hold myself to that standard. To be able to do that. And that's why I don't cheat the process. I haven't missed an OTA not one of my years of being a pro. And I obviously knew the defenses. I haven't missed a training camp. I do right by my body. I make sure I'm always the first one in the building because that standard that's kept, I have to show. Because I am in year ten and so I have to lead by example. Even if we all wake up in the morning like 'Man, I'm tired'. But it is what it is. Once I hit them doors, you're going to think I got the best energy in the building because at the end of the day it's about winning. And as long as we can bring that mentality and make that mentality throughout the whole organization, then we heading in the right direction.' He is saying the right things, but it's also worth seeing him say it, so you understand he is the type of personality that his teammates would respect and gravitate toward. It comes at the 39-minute mark of the video below. You can see how he will fit in very well on this Raiders defense and the likes of Maxx Crosby, Adam Butler, and Christian Wilkins. And how his energy could rub off on some of the younger and perhaps more volatile players who could use the structure he brings.
