Silver And Black Pride
A veteran like Bobby Wagner could swing a reunion with Pete Carroll’s Las Vegas Raiders
With projected cap space north of the $90-million mark, the Las Vegas Raiders are set to have plenty of operating room to build a roster this offseason. And it’s easy to see why Raider Nation is eager to see how it plays out.
The scenarios and speculation on how general manager John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll intend to spend the salary cap coin to build a build a team to their liking are aplenty. And being flush with that kind of spending means the chatter won’t cease anytime soon.
Add into the mix the fact that the Raiders have a bevy of in-house players slated to hit the open market when the new league year begins next month, it’s going to be an interesting offseason for the new regime.
One of those 17 Raiders that’ll hit unrestricted free agency is middle linebacker Robert Spillane. To be clear: I wholeheartedly believe it’d be in Las Vegas best interest to bring him back to the Silver & Black.
Last month, I wrote about how the steady — if not spectacular — veteran is a heartbeat-type player and how Las Vegas should bring him back to the fold. In that piece, i explored contract numbers that Spillane may see from the Raiders or on the open market. The 29-year-old is a productive tackler (306 total tackles and 5.5 sacks) that can cover and generated six takeaways (five interceptions and a fumble recovery) during his two seasons with the Raiders.
And he’s a valuable locker room leader to boot.
Let’s explore a what-if scenario where the Raiders and Spillane can’t come to terms. Who are the free agent options that make sense?
The most obvious option based on history with Carroll, fit, and need. Our Bill Williamson explored a potential Wagner-Carroll reunion a week ago and despite being 34 years old, the 6-foot, 241-pound linebacker remains every bit as effective and productive after a sustained 13 years in the NFL.
He racked up 132 total tackles, 10 stops for loss, 2 sacks, four pass deflections, and four fumble recoveries this past year for the Washington Commanders.
If Wagner were to come westward to Las Vegas, Wagner would reunite with not only Carroll, but linebackers coach John Glenn, who served as the Seattle Seahawks linebacker boss from 2018-23.
But Wagner is in a what-if scenario too, as he could re-up with the Commanders after the team finished 12-5 in the regular season before falling in the NFC Championship Game 14-6 to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Here’s another former Seahawks draft pick under Carroll’s tenure that may hit the open market.
Signed to a meager one-year, $2.5 million deal by the Denver Broncos this past offseason, Barton proved to be a productive member of Denver’s domineering defense. Racking up 106 total tackles to go with 1.5 sacks, 2 interceptions, 5...
