At 2-5, Raiders’ Future Depends On This Core Group

The Las Vegas Raiders' blowout loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and the injuries they have already suffered have led to a once challenging decision that should now be easy to make. Raiders Head Coach Pete Carroll has emphasized competition since arriving.

Las Vegas Raiders Pete Carroll | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

After failing to compete against the Chiefs whatsoever, the Raiders must be honest with themselves about the current state of their roster and the future of said roster. Las Vegas has a bottom-tier roster that is not built to sustain injuries of any kind.

Las Vegas lacks depth which is something they can only do so much to fix in the middle of the season. However, the Raiders' front office can use the rest of the season to see what they have in their slew of young, and unproven players. This could help them in the future.

The Raiders' Youth Movement

Following the Raiders' loss to the Chiefs, Raiders Head Coach Pete Carroll again leaned on his competition mantra, noting that several players will get more opportunities to earn playing time throughout the second half of the season.

“We'll see. The competition is on. And we're not through thinking that way about opportunities for guys. I thought it was right to get G [Geno Smith] out, and Kenny [Pickett] needs to get some snaps. You know, right off the bat, he screws up and missed the freaking first snap. He just needs some playtime in case we need to call on him, so he feels comfortable jumping in,” Carroll said.

“Darien [Porter], I'm always looking for chances to get him out there and get him playing. So, that's good and we'll continue to do that. There are guys up front on the offensive line and on the defensive line that we would love to give some playtime to. We stuck a couple guys in there just to get a couple snaps in at the end. They just need to be on the field, so we're going to continue to push that way.”

The Raiders roster issues will take time to fix. Still, they have a chance to help build out their roster in the future by giving valuable playing time to players who would not see the field if the Raiders had a better record than they currently do.

Las Vegas Raiders CB Darien Porter | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

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