Las Vegas Raiders News & Rumors

Raiders To Sign CB Eric Stokes

Eric Stokes battled injuries for much of his Packers tenure, but the veteran cornerback is a former first-round pick who has made 32 NFL starts. The Raiders will see if he can recapture the form that intrigued front offices out of the draft.

The Raiders are adding Stokes on a one-year contract, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. A day after the Packers poached Nate Hobbs on a top-market slot deal, the Raiders will bring in Stokes for $4MM.

Although injuries dogged Stokes in 2022 and ’23, he did suit up every Packers game last season. Stokes did not last the season as a starter, being removed from the lineup after five games, and he did not reenter the first-string mix when Jaire Alexander went down.

Still, Stokes brings elite speed, having run a 4.25-second 40-yard dash before the 2021 draft, and will be joining a Pete Carroll secondary. The accomplished coach coaxed many Seahawks cover men to success, with D.J. Reed, Shaquill Griffin and Riq Woolen faring well in Carroll’s system after Richard Sherman ascended to the All-Pro level.

Stokes, 26, has a ways to go before even being deemed a reliable starter, let alone a success story. But he will attempt to use the Raiders as a way to elevate his stock after a Wisconsin nosedive. A Lisfranc injury halted Stokes’ early-career progress midway through the 2022 season, and hamstring trouble ruined his 2023 slate. Stokes said last year overcompensation from the foot issue led to the hamstring trouble. Overall, Stokes has made three trips to IR since that 2022 injury.

Pro Football Focus viewed Stokes as a promising rookie, but he graded outside the top 100 among CB regulars in 2022 before the injury. Last season, PFF placed Stokes 74th during a 588-snap season. The Packers have seen Stokes bolt and are likely to cut Jaire Alexander, whom they are shopping. Hobbs will step into a key role in Green Bay. As far as Stokes’ path, he will vie for time with Jack Jones, Jakorian Bennett and Decamerion Richardson. Stokes has primarily worked as a boundary corner, which would not make him a one-for-one Hobbs replacement.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/10/25

Here are today’s minor NFL moves that may have been missed during an otherwise extremely busy first day of the tampering period:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Raiders To Sign LB Elandon Roberts

Although Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler are long gone, the Raiders are still adding former Patriot regulars. Elandon Roberts will be the latest, though he has enjoyed multiple stopovers since his Patriot Way days.

The Raiders are adding the recent Steelers starter on a one-year deal worth $3MM, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. Roberts has run his career start count to 105 games. After the Patriots added Robert Spillane earlier Monday, the Raiders will bring in one of the players the Steelers used to replace him back in 2023.

While the Raiders are no longer embracing the Patriot Way model, they do have a key holdover from that period in Patrick Graham, who will now work as DC for a third head coach. Graham and Roberts’ Patriots tenures did not overlap, but the current Raiders DC coached Roberts under Brian Flores in Miami.

The Raiders were unable to retain Spillane, Tre’von Moehrig or Nate Hobbs, but they have now added Roberts and Jeremy Chinn to go along with the re-signed Malcolm Koonce and Adam Butler. The team also signed veteran DB Lonnie Johnson. In Roberts, they will add an experienced player that has remained a starter despite a few scheme shifts.

Roberts, 31 in April, comes to the Raiders after seeing his snap share reduced in Pittsburgh. The Steelers used Roberts as a 14-game starter, but he did not share the responsibilities Patrick Queen did. Roberts played only 44% of Pittsburgh’s defensive plays last season — down from 54% in 2023. Despite the reduced role, Pro Football Focus assigned the veteran as the No. 3 overall run defender among off-ball linebackers. This came as Roberts totaled five tackles for loss after he finished with 10 apiece in 2022 and ’23. Butler’s most impressive statistical season came in 2022, when he totaled 107 tackles and 4.5 sacks for the playoff-bound Dolphins.

A Bill Belichick piece on three Patriots Super Bowl teams in the late 2010s, Roberts signed three one-year contracts with the Dolphins. He played on a two-year, $7MM Steelers deal. The Raiders probably still have some work to do at linebacker, with Divine Deablo also a free agent.

Raiders To Re-Sign Malcolm Koonce

Malcolm Koonce represented one of the more interesting free agents in this year’s group of edge rushers. Rather than taking a deal with a new team, though, he will remain in Vegas.

Koonce has agreed to re-sign with the Raiders on a one-year deal, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports. Even though he missed all of the 2024 campaign, this deal is worth $12MM. A short-term approach makes sense from the team’s perspective, but that is a notable financial commitment in the wake of Maxx Crosby‘s new deal.

The Raiders were unable retain Tre’von Moehrig, Nate Hobbs or Robert Spillane today, despite Pete Carroll expressing interest in each prior-regime investment sticking around. But the team is bringing back Koonce and Adam Butler, whom Las Vegas re-signed Sunday night. They will continue as Crosby complementary pieces.

For Koonce, this will be a “prove it” deal. The Raiders have good reason for putting Koonce to a test (albeit a well-paid one). Other than a second-half eruption in 2023, the former third-round pick does not have much to show statistically for his NFL career. But as the Raiders’ Chandler Jones signing revealed itself to be one of the decade’s worst moves, Koonce stepped up ahead of top-10 pick Tyree Wilson.

Koonce finished the 2023 season with eight sacks; the Buffalo alum compiled all those from Week 9 on. Peaking with a three-sack performance during a Raiders Christmas Day upset of the Chiefs, Koonce also added two more in the Raiders’ 63-21 romp over the Chargers — one that ultimately led Tom Telesco to Vegas. Telesco is already out as GM, and after Koonce did not have a chance to build on his 2023 season (thanks to a season-ending knee injury sustained in a late-summer practice), Carroll, John Spytek and Tom Brady will observe his 2025 progress.

Playing on a defensive front housing Crosby and Christian Wilkins‘ monster contracts, it is possible Koonce will be auditioning for a 2026 free agency bid this coming season.

Raiders To Sign Jeremy Chinn

The Raiders are set to lose Tre’von Moehrig, but they have moved quickly in finding another starter at the safety spot. Jeremy Chinn has an agreement in place with Vegas, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.

This will be a two-year deal, Garafolo adds. Chinn will receive more than $16MM if he collects the full value of the pact. Over 75% of the contract is guaranteed at signing, making this a lucrative move for the versatile defender.

Although the Raiders were connected to keeping Moehrig or pursuing Camryn Bynum in free agency, they will end up with Chinn, who made a difference in Washington after being phased out in Carolina. Formerly the Defensive Rookie of the Year runner-up who was a stat machine as versatile piece in Phil Snow’s defense, Chinn faded to a part-timer to close out Ejiro Evero’s first season running the show. But Chinn did much better in Washington.

Last season, Chinn logged 412 snaps in the box, 299 at free safety and 202 in the slot. Chinn delivered an all-around season, notching 117 tackles (a career-high seven for loss) to go with two sacks, two fumble recoveries and five pass deflections. He also mixed in a forced fumble and an interception. This did not land Chinn a big-ticket deal like Moehrig or Bynum agreed to Monday, but he still should have a chance at another free agency trip down the line.

Going into an age-27 season, Chinn is on track to start for a Raiders team that lost Moehrig and has Marcus Epps out of contract as well. He of 67 career starts (including 17 last year), the former second-round pick has three 100-tackle seasons on his resume. The Raiders, who also lost linebacker Robert Spillane, have a player in Chinn who has extensive experience in the box.

Adam La Rose contributed to this post.

Free Agency Rumors: Raiders, Murphy, Holland, Jets, Dalman, Bears, Falcons, OL

Byron Murphy was on the 2023 market, but the four-year Cardinals starter settled for a midlevel two-year deal. After a productive Vikings run, the former No. 33 overall pick has set himself up for a second payday. On a market featuring a host of third-contract-seeking corners, Murphy may be in the best shape due to going into an age-27 season. A suitor has emerged for the six-year vet in the Raiders, with The Athletic’s Tashan Reed labeling him a top priority for the Silver and Black. Murphy has set a high asking price, potentially up to $20MM per year, though the Vikings are exploring a second contract.

Elsewhere in the Raiders’ secondary, the team still wants to keep Tre’von Moehrig. With Moehrig expected to do well on the market, the Raiders may need a backup plan. Identifying Moehrig as the most difficult of Las Vegas’ in-house free agents to retain, Reed mentions Murphy teammate Camryn Bynum as a player to watch for a potential addition. Evidently viewing the Vikings’ secondary as a well-run unit, the Raiders have both starting safeties (Moehrig, Marcus Epps) hitting the market. Moehrig landed 24th on our top 50 free agents list, Bynum 36th. Bynum joins Murphy in going into an age-27 season and as a player who played a key role in helping Minnesota form a top-five defense.

Here is the latest from the free agent market:

  • Jevon Holland has been tied to the Panthers and Titans, with the Dolphins not giving up hope — reminding of their Christian Wilkins and Robert Hunt final hours — of retaining him. The Jets should be a team to monitor for Holland as well, SNY’s Connor Hughes tweets. No. 6 on our FA list, Holland has been linked to potentially commanding as much as $20MM per year. The Jets have Chuck Clark, Jalen Mills and Ashtyn Davis due for free agency. Holland would be a much pricier replacement, but the Jets have a veteran secondary coach (Aaron Glenn) as HC now. Glenn just had considerable success developing Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch.
  • The Jets are not expected to retain Tyler Conklin, Hughes adds. Conklin played three seasons with the Jets, outdoing C.J. Uzomah after both were signed in the same offseason. Conklin, 29, could do reasonably well on the market. This is a thin TE market, with Juwan Johnson and now Evan Engram profiling as the top options. Mike Gesicki scored a three-year, $25.5MM Bengals deal. Conklin has been more consistent. He was oddly more productive with Zach Wilson, posting a career-high 621 yards in 2023; he tallied 449 and a career-high four TDs last year.
  • Extending Jake Matthews stands to create some cap space for the Falcons, but Drew Dalman will draw a strong market, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz notes. A three-year Falcons center starter, Dalman looks to be the top snapper available ahead of his age-27 season. The Bears are being mentioned as a team to monitor for Dalman, Schultz adds. Chicago has been busy revamping its interior O-line in Ben Johnson‘s first weeks on the job, trading for Joe Thuney and ex-Lions starter Jonah Jackson. Dalman would fetch an upper-crust center deal, but the Bears do have two rookie tackle salaries (for now) and Caleb Williams‘ rookie-scale deal around which to build.
  • Dan Moore Jr. has been set to leave Pittsburgh for a while, as the Steelers used back-to-back first-round picks on tackles. The four-year Pittsburgh LT is expected to command at least $15MM on the open market, with Schultz adding a high-teens AAV may be required. Ronnie Stanley landed a $20MM-per-year deal from the Ravens. The more accomplished tackle is four years older and more injury-prone than Moore. In what would be a more surprising free agency market, Schultz adds the 49ers’ Jaylon Moore may score a deal on the same level as the more experienced Moore. Jaylon Moore, a 2021 fifth-rounder, filled in for Trent Williams last season and has 15 starts on his resume. With Stanley and Alaric Jackson off the board, the Moores and Cam Robinson stand to do well.

Raiders To Re-Sign DL Adam Butler

Adam Butler revived his career with the Raiders, who plucked him off the scrap heap after a 2022 season spent out of football. Despite arriving during the Raiders’ Patriot Way experiment, the ex-New England defensive lineman still has a place in Las Vegas.

The Raiders are re-signing Butler on a three-year, $16.5MM deal, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. Butler had been seeking a raise from his low-end 2024 terms, and Rapoport adds $11MM will come guaranteed to stay with the team under Pete Carroll.

This marks a significant raise for Butler, who played out a one-year deal worth $1.8MM in 2024. Butler, 31 in April, has proven to be a solid interior rusher; he has five sacks in each of the past two seasons. Carroll had expressed interest in bringing back several of the team’s in-house FAs — accumulated under multiple GMs over the past four years — and Butler will be a less expensive piece to retain compared to Tre’von Moehrig, Nate Hobbs, Robert Spillane and perhaps Malcolm Koonce.

A regular in New England from 2017-20, Butler picked up a Super Bowl ring and followed Brian Flores to Miami in 2021. The Dolphins’ next regime did not keep Butler around, cutting him in August 2022. He ended up sitting out that season and landing a reserve/futures deal with the Raiders. Not unlike ex-Pats teammate Jermaine Eluemunor, Butler elevated his stock during a stop in Vegas.

Despite little fanfare during a 4-13 Raiders season, Butler was among the few players to land in the top 20 in pass rush win rate and top 10 in run stop win rate. Butler ranked sixth in the latter category, matching his career high (set in 2023) with eight tackles for loss. Butler primarily worked as a reserve for both Patriots Super Bowl teams he was on in the late 2010s, but he broke through as a Raiders starter last season. After no starts in 2023, Butler made 16 in ’24. He will attempt to build on that and continue in Patrick Graham’s system in 2025.

Raiders Declined Seahawks’ Offer For Maxx Crosby; Sam Darnold Likely To Choose Seattle?

The Seahawks aimed much higher in a Geno Smith trade compared to what they eventually received. Fetching a third-round pick three years after their Russell Wilson trade brought eight assets back, the Seahawks asked the Raiders about a player who drew trade interest before last year’s deadline.

Seattle included Maxx Crosby in its trade talks with Las Vegas, per SI.com’s Albert Breer, who indicates the NFC West team asked for Crosby in a trade that would have sent Smith and D.K. Metcalf to the Raiders. The Raiders quickly informed the Seahawks Crosby was a non-starter, and the team reached a record-setting extension with the star edge rusher earlier this week.

As Metcalf still looms as a trade possibility, the Seahawks will have a new starting quarterback in 2025. They have become the lead suitor for Sam Darnold, with The Athletic’s Dianna Russini adding that several execs around the league expect Darnold to end up in Seattle. The Titans have also emerged as a front-line Darnold suitor, but that looks to have changed after this Smith trade, which has brought several Darnold-Seattle links.

Mark Davis said last year Crosby was not available, and although another trade link emerged early this offseason, no serious traction came out of it. The Raiders have since signed Crosby to a three-year, $106.5MM extension. That deal came together quickly, with Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio indicating it took only “a matter of hours” for the sides to hammer out the extension. That is rather surprising, considering that Crosby set a new non-QB contract record despite only agreeing to a three-year term.

Crosby will receive $62.5MM guaranteed at signing, Florio adds, with that figure including his 2025 and ’26 base salaries. Crosby’s 2027 base salary ($29MM) is guaranteed for injury and becomes fully guaranteed on Day 3 of the 2026 league year. That will amount to a practical guarantee, as the Raiders will be extraordinarily unlikely to move on from Crosby next year. Crosby’s 2028 and ’29 base salaries are nonguaranteed.

It is worth wondering if the Seahawks and Raiders’ Smith talks impacted the Crosby extension. Even if they did not, Seattle attempting to land the dominant pass rusher in a package that would have reunited Pete Carroll with Metcalf as well is quite noteworthy. The Raiders could still acquire Metcalf and/or Tyler Lockett, the latter becoming a free agent minutes before the younger Seahawks wideout’s trade request surfaced. The Seahawks want the Metcalf trade matter resolved by the draft.

Metcalf was linked to preferring a warm-weather city and landing in a place with more quarterback stability. This could certainly be perceived as a knock on Smith, and ESPN.com’s Lindsey Thiry adds that the Smith trade — and Darnold-to-Seattle rumors — could alter the Metcalf conversation in Seattle. Darnold has not been as good as Smith on the whole, though the Vikings QB outplayed the former Comeback Player of the Year in 2024.

Darnold is now expected to leave Minnesota, and it will be interesting to see how far Seattle will need to go contractually to land the breakthrough passer. The Seahawks’ offense will lack the overall weaponry the Vikings’ provided, especially if the team trades Metcalf. Keeping Metcalf would make the Seahawks more appealing to Darnold, even though Jaxon Smith-Njigba authored a breakout season. Darnold will understandably want to know how serious the Seahawks are about moving Metcalf before he commits, as other suitors’ offers could still impact a Darnold-to-Seattle path.

Raiders Still In Play To Draft First-Round QB

The Raiders have their 2025 starting quarterback, needing to give up only a third-round pick for him. Geno Smith‘s reunion with Pete Carroll checked off the most important box for the Raiders during their offseason, and a new contract will be expected for the ex-Seahawk.

A meeting between Carroll, Tom Brady, John Spytek, Chip Kelly and QBs coach Greg Olson charted a course after the Raiders’ Matthew Stafford effort failed. The team wanted to have an established veteran over an untested rookie, according to The Athletic’s Tashan Reed, who indicates the meeting came after “several members” of the Raiders’ offensive staff preferred a vet.

That said, the Raiders have still acquired a soon-to-be 35-year-old quarterback. While Smith’s presence could allow the Raiders to reset and table their need to draft a passer — perhaps when more appealing QB draft classes emerge after 2025 — but Reed adds this trade is not expected to take the Raiders out of the mix for a first-round QB investment this year entirely.

The Raiders may need to keep this up to make their pick more valuable in a potential trade, as smokescreen efforts regularly involve quarterbacks, but the team has done extensive homework on Round 1 passes in each of the past two years. Of course, two different regimes went through those process. Spytek and Brady will lead this one. A quarterback chosen outside the first round also may be in play.

Already linked to Jalen Milroe recently, the Raiders were particularly impressed with he and Texas’ Quinn Ewers after going through concepts with them at the Combine, per Reed. Both players are not currently viewed as first-round prospects, but we have seen QB prospects vault to that status during the pre-draft process many times in the draft. How teams fill their positions in free agency will also impact perception on these two, Jaxson Dart and Tyler Shough ahead of the draft. The Raiders were linked to a Cam Ward trade-up, but now that they have Smith, it seems highly unlikely they would move up for the Miami passer. Shedeur Sanders may well be available at No. 6, though the Colorado product’s stock his falling.

The Seahawks had put off adding a Smith heir apparent in the 2023 and ’24 drafts, and while they had not seen their QB match his 2022 Comeback Player of the Year form, Smith remained a solid option under center. He finished 14th in QBR in 2023 and started 17 games last season, though his QBR fell to 21st.

Smith saw his interceptions climb to 15 but also matched his 2022 yards per attempt figure (7.5) and established a new high for completion percentage (70.4) with a mark that bettered his NFL-leading 2022 number (69.8). Smith should provide the Raiders with flexibility, likely giving them a multi-season starter.

Nothing had gone especially well for the Raiders at quarterback since they cut Derek Carr. Neither Jimmy Garoppolo nor Gardner Minshew proved the answer, with each being benched during stays that involved injuries and, eventually, post-June 1 cuts. The Raiders will need a Smith heir apparent in the not-too-distant future, but taking a Day 2 QB and evaluating him this year would not cut into the team’s resources to build around Smith too much.

Seahawks To Trade Geno Smith To Raiders

Rumored to be still looking into trades after the Matthew Stafford push failed, the Raiders have found a solution. Pete Carroll will be reuniting with a QB — just not via free agency.

Rather than a Russell Wilson signing, the Raiders are trading for Geno Smith, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports. The Raiders will send the Seahawks a 2025 third-rounder for Smith, Seattle’s former Wilson backup-turned-three-year starter. Suddenly, it is the Seahawks who need a quarterback.

[RELATED: Seahawks Want D.K. Metcalf Trade Done By Draft]

While we mentioned Smith as a prospective solution minutes ago, it is still fairly stunning the Seahawks are parting with a proven starter. One season remains on Smith’s three-year, $75MM contract. This trade will almost definitely bring a Smith extension, as the Raiders were on the cusp of giving Stafford a monster guarantee package.

Smith is not in Stafford’s skill class, but he is two years younger. Going into his age-35 season, Smith likely has secured another starter year without the threat of an immediate QB heir apparent coming in. Indeed, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reports Smith is likely to land a new deal in Vegas; he has been seeking a contract between $40-$45MM per year. The Seahawks came in at around $35MM per year, SI.com’s Albert Breer tweets. Smith entered the offseason as the NFL’s 19th-highest-paid QB, with no one really around his $25MM AAV.

The 2022 Comeback Player of the Year, Smith is due a $14.8MM base salary in 2025. That money is not guaranteed, but again, it would be quite surprising if the 12th-year veteran were still attached to that deal by Week 1. This represents a major swing by a Raiders team that has shuffled through QBs since benching Derek Carr in December 2022. Smith is one year older than Carr, but he has displayed durability since replacing Wilson in Seattle.

Smith stunned the football-following world by being far more than a mediocre Wilson successor, rising from longtime backup — a player who had drawn low-end salaries from the Seahawks for four years — to the NFL’s completion percentage leader. Smith broke Wilson’s single-season Seahawks passing yardage record in 2022, also throwing 30 TD passes, and then re-broke it this past season. He finished with 4,320 passing yards last season, though the 15 interceptions brought concerns for the Seahawks, who had passed on acquiring an heir apparent for multiple offseasons. Smith ranked just 21st in QBR last season, after coming in at seventh (2022) and 14th (2023) in his other Seattle starter years.

Talks had begun between Smith and the Seahawks, but NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport indicates the sides did not make much progress. This will end a six-season partnership, one that brought three winning seasons — including a 10-7 2024 season — and a playoff berth with Smith at the wheel. The Seahawks are now exploring a Sam Darnold addition, providing a tremendous shakeup to the QB market days before free agency. Smith had pushed for an extension in 2024, but the Seahawks did not greenlight one.

Seattle’s shocking Smith trade comes after John Schneider had said there was no doubt the QB would remain at the controls in 2025. The deal also comes two days after D.K. Metcalf requested a trade. The Seahawks, who cut Tyler Lockett minutes before the Metcalf news surfaced, are making wholesale changes after back-to-back playoff misses. Seattle had not previously missed two straight postseasons since the 2008-09 seasons — before Carroll and Schneider arrived.

Metcalf is believed to be targeting a deal to a warmer-weather team, with Russini indicating during a radio interview with Mike Golic and Mike Golic Jr. that the standout receiver also wants more QB stability. Metcalf has since seen the Seahawks deal a proven starter, as the team joins a handful of clubs in pursuit of a free agent. Effectively, the Raiders and Seahawks have swapped places. This is a long time coming for the Raiders, who have come off back-to-back seasons featuring struggles staffing the position.

The Raiders cut Carr and signed Jimmy Garoppolo. After Garoppolo became a post-June 1 release — following another injury-plagued season that involved a midyear benching — the team gave Gardner Minshew a two-year, $25MM deal. Also benched, Minshew sustained a season-ending injury and will follow Garoppolo in being a post-June 1 cut. Aidan O’Connell remains on the roster, but he no longer has a realistic path to the starting job. This will at least buy the Raiders time, as they could now — barring a renewed Cam Ward trade-up effort — wait for a better offseason to strike. This has widely been viewed as an unspectacular QB draft class.

Las Vegas picked up an extra third-rounder via the Davante Adams trade, closing the book on the wide receiver’s two-plus years with the team. The Raiders carried more than $80MM in cap space entering Friday; some of that figures to go to Smith’s extension, but the team will have necessary funds to improve around him, after a 4-13 season cost Antonio Pierce and Tom Telesco their jobs. In stepped Tom Brady, who has been a central presence in the Raiders’ QB pursuit.

Carroll is on a three-year contract, coming in as a hopeful culture-resetting presence after tumult consumed the Raiders following Jon Gruden‘s forced resignation. Carroll had stumped for Smith during the months between the Wilson blockbuster and the 2022 season, and Smith beat trade pickup Drew Lock for the starting job. He was unchallenged for the position in 2023 and ’24, but Mike Macdonald and new OC Klint Kubiak will be working with a new passer in 2025. Kubiak had said Smith was a “huge draw” to bring him to Seattle; Smith will now get to work in Chip Kelly‘s offense.