New Beginnings Will Be the Story of the Raiders' Offseason

The Las Vegas Raiders have repeatedly tried and failed over the past few seasons to find the right head coach or assemble a roster that was talented enough to consistently compete in the National Football League. Winning is a completely different story. The Raiders have not been competitive.

Raiders' New Path

The Raiders hope an essentially brand-new coaching staff, and an improved roster will help them take the next step in 2026. However, everything must be kept in perspective. The Raiders have won seven combined games in the past two seasons. A five-win 2026 season would be a successful season.

Las Vegas is featuring a coaching staff and several players who are all looking for greener pastures in one sense or another. There are few players or coaches the Raiders have in which that is the case more for, than veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins, who recently signed with the team.

Cousins had a rocky couple of seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. After they paid him over $100 million is free agency, the Falcons front office reportedly failed to mention to Cousins and his agent that they also planned on using the No. 8 overall pick in that year's draft on a quarterback.

That got Cousins time with the Falcons off to a bad start that both sides never seemed to recover from. Cousins got off to a hot start in Atlanta, only for his play to drop significantly due to an injury. Cousins' time in Atlanta started off well, but the fall off was massive.

Cousins led the Falcons to a 6-3 start in his first season with the team. He followed that up with a four-game losing streak in which he threw eight interceptions and zero touchdowns. The streak took the Falcons from leading the division to missing the playoffs.

The Falcons would play musical chairs at quarterback for Cousins' remaining time with the team. After joining the Raiders, Cousins explained how refreshing it is to have a new start in Las Vegas.

“There certainly was a joy getting off the plane, getting picked up, heading to do all my logistical things to join a new team, there was a joy and excitement being here, partly probably has to do with the tradition of this organization, specifically getting to put on this logo, one of the coolest logos in all of professional sports," Cousins said at his introductory press conference.

“So, it just feels like a real privilege to be here. I remember having that feeling when I was at Michigan State as a freshman, like getting to wear that Spartan head and being a part of that just felt like such a privilege, and I had that feeling today. So, yeah, I just think it's a beautiful place to live, beautiful place to be, and it's a great opportunity."