Silver And Black Pride
Veteran linebacker has experience but Raiders added productive veteran Germaine Pratt as a free agent
The Silver & Black are no strangers to career renaissance and resurrection.
So it was no surprise to see the Las Vegas Raiders ink veteran linebacker Jaylon Smith to a one-year deal after a weekend tryout in early May. With a meager salary of $1.255 million, the 30-year-old second round pick (34th overall) from the 2016 NFL Draft once again sports the Silver & Black colors — something he wore in 2023.
Las Vegas was in dire need of more experience and depth at the linebacker spot for head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek brought the once-tenacious tackling machine back into the Raiders’ fold.
Smith, along with fellow veterans Elandon Roberts (31 years old) and Devin White (27 years old) were brought into help the team fill in the gaps for former starters Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo who signed with the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons, respectively, as unrestricted free agents.
By The Numbers
Jaylon Smith, Linebacker
And for much of OTAs and mandatory minicamp from June 10-12, it sure looked like the trio of old heads — Roberts, White, Smith and youngsters Amari Gainer and Tommy Eichenberg — would duke it out for either starting spots or snaps.
But, seemingly out of the blue, the Cincinnati Bengals cut productive starting linebacker Germaine Pratt and in one fell swoop, the Raiders bolstered their position group by scooping up the free agent veteran.
With Pratt now in tow, Smith’s career resurrection faces a steep challenge in Las Vegas.
Two seasons ago, Smith played in only one game for the Raiders and his 25 total snaps in 2023 was the lowest of his entire career. He didn’t play a single snap in the NFL in 2024 and the last time Smith had extensive work was the 2022 season with the New York Giants where he played in 13 games (11 starts) at inside linebacker and produced 88 total tackles with one sack, and one fumble recovery.
That lone year was a return to form of sorts for the Notre Dame product, but since then, he’s been an afterthought.
With Pratt now in the mix, Smith can potentially get lost in the shuffle — again.
Before Pratt’s arrival, Roberts has taken to the Raiders defense the strongest and appears in line to earn a starting spot at linebacker this season. The 6-foot-1 and 230-pound Houston product had two strong seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2023 and 2024 and brings the tenacity and violence Carroll and linebackers coach John Glenn favor from the position group. Roberts is a hard-nosed, intelligent, instinctive, and packs a wallop as an inside linebacker.
Pratt, meanwhile,...
