3 Critical Issues Raiders Must Fix Before OTAs End

HENDERSON, Nev.—The Las Vegas Raiders are turning a critical page in the rebuilding of the storied franchise.

Jan 4, 2026; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll observes warm ups before the start of a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

A New Direction

Under the watchful eye of GM John Spytek and the leadership of coach Klint Kubiak, the Raiders will flip the switch with the conclusion of Organized Team Activities (OTAs) leading up to the critical Mandatory Minicamp next month (June 9-11).

Before the calendar changes and the Silver and Black head closer to the start of training camp and eventually the season, there are three critical areas the franchise needs to address as it recovers from the collapse of 2025.

Aidan O'Connell, Fernando Mendoz | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

There is no physical contact during the OTA period, and that makes this mental period of the OTA tremendously valuable.

New coaches are throwing information at their players with fury, and returning coaches are trying to quickly install the changes that evolved as the team added new players and identified areas they wanted to develop.

ernando Mendoza, Kirk Cousins | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Legendary coach John Robinson once described the OTA part of the NFL schedule to players as, “OTAs are the place you prove you have a brain, and the brains to play in this league.” He was 100% correct.

No.1: Nuances

There are a myriad of nuances in the game of professional football.

Audible

Some examples of that are the audible. Teams practice tremendous deception in the game, so while an audible in the first quarter is called, in the others, it's just wasted verbiage to deceive the opponent.

Another area of nuance is offensive pass protection. Tyler Linderbaum, in cahoots with Rick Dennison and Klint Kubiak, will develop how they want the offensive line to call protections.

Maxx Crosby | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

There are nuances for every position group, not just the offensive line, and with hundreds of audibles all over the field, the mental acuity is expected to be ready for mandatory minicamp.

Stretching & Preparation

Another nuance may surprise you. I covered a team that had more than its fair share of ACL/MCL strains, so the next year they changed the stretching process. All of those new intricacies are installed during the OTA session.

No. 2: Timing

The timing of the practice and game is a vital area addressed in the OTA portion of the calendar.

On Field Teaching

Tyler Linderbaum | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Every team, like every family, is different. Some head coaches want to be the dominant voice, others want it to be the coordinators', and still others want it to be the position coach's.

One defensive coordinator I covered wanted his position coaches to be the dominant voice, so he kept his whistle in his mouth for almost the entire session. After each rep, his coaches would look to see if the whistle had dropped from his lips. If it had, they would have known to be quiet; he was going to speak.

Caleb Rogers | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

All of these may seem like minutiae to the average fan, but I assure you they aren’t. These are the nuances that surround the game and are worked out in OTAs, so that when the gas pedal is pressed in minicamp, the team is ready to go.

NIL Hurting College but Helping the NFL

Kirk Cousins | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

At the 2025 NFL Combine, I had a highly successful NFL coach tell me, “I think NIL may make the coach game crap, but it helps us. By the time I get a guy now, he has been in three or four systems usually, and he understands the mental part of adjusting to all the nuances of each team.”

That is a fascinating example of unintended consequences.

Cadence

Fernando Mendoza | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

The calling of plays and the discussion in the huddle vary from team to team and even regime to regime. Not only is this critical with a rookie QB like Fernando Mendoza, but it's critical even with veterans like Aidan O'Connell and Kirk Cousins.

The cadence is getting worked on in detail right now.

Huddles

How does the coach want the huddles coordinated, and where? Those are all timing issues and about understanding what you want and how you want it.

No. 3: Community

This may surprise you, but some coaches want open, competitive players cheering and yelling, and all that goes into a hyper-competitive environment. Those more vocal communities take up precious practice time; others covet it.

Some coaches want players to run from drill to drill; others want meetings after showers and lunch; some want players in the classroom immediately.

Jackson Powers Johnson | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

How do they handle guests at practice? How do they want hydration?

Community can be summed up with "What do you want from me?" Simply learning what works.

A simple example of this is a coach who didn’t want his quarterbacks to have a towel, but liked one on the back of his center.

Eric Stokes | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Captains

When you discuss community in the NFL, the role of the captain is enormous. On some teams (not the elite ones), they are treated like figureheads.

On other teams, the captains carry a great deal of weight. I know of a player that a coach loved, but the captains wanted him kicked off, and the coach acquiesced. All of these are things that are developed as a team, essentially a family, that works out a community.

The OTA session is coming to an end. If these three areas are fully addressed in these sessions, the mandatory minicamp will be more successful, laying the foundation for a great training camp and a favorable 2026 schedule and plan.

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