Time Will Tell If Raiders' Front Office Learned This Lesson

The Las Vegas Raiders have an opportunity to learn from one significant mistake they made last offseason.

Aug 23, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Detailed view of a Las Vegas Raiders helmet during a preseason NFL game at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Part of any general manager's job is figuring out which players to keep and which ones to let go. The Las Vegas Raiders will face this decision again in the upcoming weeks. They must do a better job of making that decision than they did last offseason. They were not very successful in free agency.

Las Vegas hopes to turn its luck around this offseason. In many regards, the ball is in their court.

Hard Lessons Learned

The Raiders let several players walk in free agency last offseason that had productive seasons elsewhere. Although in some cases keeping the Raiders' free agents that left last season would have meant overpaying, Las Vegas let multiple affordable options go that could have helped this season.

Las Vegas does not have many notable players entering free agency this offseason. Still, they must choose wisely as they move forward. This is especially the case, as their top free agent, Eric Stokes, plays a position the Raiders are glaringly weak at. The Raiders' group of cornerbacks is not good.

Jan 4, 2026; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Noah Gray (83) catches a pass against Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Eric Stokes (22) in the second half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Bradley Locker of Pro Football Focus recently listed the best move every team in the National Football League made last offseason. The Raiders made several moves, but few of them worked out. Few, except veteran cornerback Eric Stokes, who became one of the Raiders' most reliable players.

"The Raiders gave Stokes an opportunity to prove himself on a one-year contract, and he did just that. The former first-round pick was one of the best cover corners in football with a 73.5 PFF coverage grade and a 56% completion percentage allowed, ranking as the ninth-best cornerback by PFF WAR. The 26-year-old should be primed for a sufficiently larger next contract in March," Locker said.

Dec 28, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Eric Stokes (22) warms up before the game against the New York Giants at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Stokes is set to become a free agent this offseason, which means the Raiders must decide whether or not they want to present Stokes with a contract offer. It remains to be seen whether or not he will return, but Raiders General Manager John Spytek learned a valuable lesson last offseason.

“We don't want to let good players leave our building. That's happened around here. I was in charge last year when a couple good players left the building. And it's one of the things I learned, you got to keep our good players here. And we were talking about it this morning. You look around the league there's some former Raiders that are playing good football somewhere. And I got to do a better job in that world,” Spytek said.

Sep 28, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Eric Stokes (22) celebrates during the second half against the Chicago Bears at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Follow us on: X/Twitter @HondoCarpenter, @EZTrez_SI ,and IG @HondoSr . We also invite you to visit our Facebook page, WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE. There, you can discuss what you think the Raiders can learn from the teams in the Super Bowl.

Have every Raiders story straight to your email with the latest news.  Our newsletter is completely FREE. We will not spam you or sell your information.  SIGN UP HERE NOW.