Raiders' Carroll Named Free Agency Winner

The Las Vegas Raiders saw key defenders depart in the first week of free agency.

But their replacements, along with the trade for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, should have Pete Carroll happy. His vision, in collaboration with general manager John Spytek and minority owner Tom Brady, is being enacted to the letter of his law.

That fact alone has CBS Sports' Cody Benjamin naming the Super Bowl-winning coach a "winner" of free agency's first week.

"The longtime coach wasn't going to retake the sidelines at age 73 without pushing some chips in on this season," wrote Benjamin. "And while his Las Vegas Raiders may not be Super Bowl-caliber, they sure look more formidable than they did a few months ago. Former Seattle Seahawks pal Geno Smith gives Carroll a familiar face with the arm talent to keep things interesting under center. On the other side, securing both Maxx Crosby and Malcolm Koonce off the edge should ensure Carroll's defensive front is no pushover, either."

Carroll was able to bring in defensive backs Jeremy Chinn, Lonnie Johnson Jr., and Eric Stokes, along with linebacker Elandon Roberts and running back Raheem Mostert. To go with the new additions, he helped extend Maxx Crosby, re-sign defensive tackle Adam Butler and defensive end Malcolm Koonce.

The reverence that new additions like Chinn and Stokes have for Carroll is a telling sign of his legacy and the belief in what he is selling in Las Vegas.

"Just the energy that he brings," Stokes told described to reporters on Thursday. "Like just talking to him through the phone and stuff, you can feel his energy, feel like everything that he wants, and he believes in. So, like, when I finally got to meet him today, it was just perfect, because it was pretty much the exact same thing. Like everything that he mean, everything that he act, and pretty much the things that I heard about him is pretty much true as of right now.”

Chinn added, "When you look at his secondaries, just the kind of guys that he's had, you think of Kam Chancellor and the legion of boom and guys like that. So, I'm just excited to be a part."

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