Silver And Black Pride
Offensive lineman was one of Raiders GM’s first new additions in Las Vegas
The connection with John Spytek and Alex Cappa is undeniable.
Spytek was part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers front office that made Cappa — a Division II small-school product out of Humboldt State (now Cal Poly Humboldt) — a third-round pick (94th overall) in the 2018 NFL Draft.
(Full disclosure: I’m a Humboldt alumni myself and covered Cappa during his time with the Lumberjacks football team.)
Cappa was an integral part of the Bucs offensive line that protected quarterback Tom Brady and while he missed Tampa’s Super Bowl LV victory due to a fractured ankle, the 6-foot-6 and 312-pounder was a mainstay up front.
As you can see, the connections run deep. Spytek is now the Las Vegas Raiders general manager and Brady is a minority owner of the Silver & Black. And one of Spytek’s initial additions to his and head coach Pete Carroll’s roster: Cappa.
A cap casualty for the Cincinnati Bengals after he inked a four-year, $35 million contract, Cappa was released on March 3 and on March 5, inked a two-year, $11 million deal with the Las Vegas.
With Cappa now in the fold, his signing provides a good case study in Spytek’s roster building and player evaluation acumen. It’s no secret that Cappa struggled mightily during the 2024 season with the Bengals as he ranked bottom of the barrel as a starting right guard in 17 starts. The two seasons prior, the offensive lineman was a reliable and stout right guard playing and starting in all of but one game (in 2022).
Cappa’s most recent season output rightfully brought on questions of why did the Raiders hand over a payday to a guard that wasn’t up to league par. But Cappa’s signing can play out in two ways:
Either way, it’s something to keep an eye on.
Especially considering Raiders team columnist Paul Gutierrez (ESPN’s former beat writer for the team) dropped a dime regarding Cappa on Raider Nation Radio’s Unnecessary Roughness with Q Meyers last week.
“I think Cappa all but has the right guard position sewn up,” Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez sentiment lines up with other beat writers who attended OTAs and mandatory minicamps in May and June, respectively. Cappa was the mainstay at right guard in between center Jackson Powers-Johnson and right tackle DJ Glaze.
A team’s offensive line is often the heartbeat of the offense — regardless of how sexy skill positions are like quarterback or running back — and if the trench warriors aren’t up to snuff, the Raiders aren’t going to be able to do enough on offense.
Carroll has entrusted the offensive line development on a trio of coaches: His son Brennan Carroll who is the run game coordinator/offensive line coach; Andy Dickerson who...
