Overview: The Raiders experienced a newfound sense of hope and confidence after a difficult start to the season. After a 3-5 start, Josh McDaniels was fired as head coach, but things soon improved under Antonio Pierce’s temporary leadership.
Pierce was elevated from interim to full-time head coach after leading the squad to a 5-4 victory and winning the respect of important players in the locker room. The team also brought in Tom Telesco to assist with roster formation. The Raiders place a great priority on finding a new quarterback to fit with the current regime, but only time will tell if this plan is effective and wise for the organization.
Who is present or absent? With a new front office in place, this one is difficult to assess, but Josh Jacobs is someone they should figure out how to hold onto for a more season to give their offense some legitimacy in 2024. It would also aid their offensive transition the next season if they could keep one or both of their offensive lineman who are set to enter free agency.
What causes the holes? With Jimmy Garoppolo leaving town, Aidan O’Connell and Jimmy Garoppolo might face off at quarterback should the Raiders decide to add someone to the position. To ease the workload of defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, who oversaw an outstanding defense in the second half of the season, they also require more vigor at cornerback and defensive line.
Reasons for their possible disappearance: After a disastrous year-long experiment in Las Vegas, Garoppolo is practically already out of the picture. He has also reportedly been suspended for the first two games of the 2024 season for breaking the NFL’s policy regarding performance-enhancing drugs. Hunter Renfrow makes sense as a cap casualty to save up a little over $8 million because he wasn’t used much the previous season. An extra $3.4 million would be saved if Epps was released.
