Did the Raiders Stumble Upon a DE to Complement Crosby?

This offseason the focus surrounding the Las Vegas Raiders was it's defense that was returning every starter from last season except one. Former general manager Tom Telesco also added defensive lineman Christian Wilkins in free agency, giving the veteran a hefty contract.

However, arguably the most intriguing part of the Raiders' defense entering the season was the growth of defensive end Malcolm Koonce, who was entering a contract year after a successful second half of the previous season.

Koonce had been stashed away on the Raiders bench for most of this first three seasons in the National Football League, finally emerging after the Raiders fired former head coach Josh McDaniels and former head coach Antonio Pierce decided to give him more playing time.

Still, Koonce was entering a contract year and needed to show that the success he had last season was sustainable and worth a quality contract either from the Raiders or another team this upcoming offseason. The veteran defensive lineman showed growth all through training camp, appearing to be in the best shape of his career.

In preseason action, he showed enough that there was legitimate reason to be confident that the Raiders had finally found a defensive end to play consistently opposite of Maxx Crosby. After years of free agency signings and drafting defensive ends, including Koonce, it seemed they found what they had been looking for.

That is, until Pierce announced Koonce would be out for an unspecified amount of time, which turned out to be the entire season. It was a devastating blow that Pierce would later admit significantly hurt the team on the field and mentally, off the field as well.

Still, the NFL is a business and injuries are as much a part of the game as pigskin and helmets, the Raiders were forced to try and quickly recover from a terrible loss before even taking the field for the first game of the season.

Koonce was injured a couple of days before the team's Week 1 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. After a deflating defeat, it was apparent the Raiders needed help.

The Raiders signed former first round pick K'Lavon Chaisson to their practice squad just a few days after their loss to the Chargers.

Chaisson was labeled a bust after the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted him in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft, but his productive never came close to how high the Jaguars drafted him. He signed with the Raiders looking to show he had grown as a player and was not a bust.

He did precisely that. In 15 games with the Raiders, Chaisson finished with a career high in tackles, passes defended, tackles for loss and sacks. His five sacks this season tied the number of sacks he posted in four seasons with the Jaguars.

As with every unrestricted free agent, Chaisson is free to sign anywhere and another team may be willing to offer him more money than the Raiders. However, the Raiders and Chaisson should both consider a short term deal at a reasonable price.

That would protect both sides, as Chaisson would have two additional seasons to prove himself, still make reasonable money but the Raiders would not be tied to him long term. If he continues to play like he did this season he would set himself up for an even larger payday in just two short seasons.

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