Silver And Black Pride
As part of the 2025 draft class, offensive lineman Caleb Rogers found himself sitting, watching, and learning for much of his rookie campaign.
Even with the team struggling mightily and competitiveness waning week-to-week — normally an opportune time for a team in the dumps to play rookies and younger players to take stock of what they have — the third-round pick (98th overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft didn’t get an official offensive snap until Week 13. The team was 2-9 at that point and after a 31-14 thumping from AFC West foe Los Angeles Chargers, the Raiders dropped to 2-10.
In between that time, however, was reported struggles in practice — with Pete Carroll’s coaching staff holding him back due what they classified as inability to absorb coaching. And when word got out that Rogers would be making the start against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 11, the Texas Tech product was instead a healthy scratch.
However, from Week 14 on, the 6-foot-4 and 312-pound Rogers played all the offensive snaps in the final give games of the season, with the majority of the work at right guard. When all was said and done, the rookie graded out as a bright spot on the much-maligned Brennan Carroll-led Raiders offensive line. The Texas native proved to be an asset in pass protection while developing as a run blocker and was a paragon of discipline with zero penalties across his 284 snaps last year.
Now, the 24-year-old heads into a 2026 season with a new head coach — Klint Kubiak — and a veteran offensive line coach — Rick Dennison — with Las Vegas cleansing itself of nepotism in the coaching staff. That alone doesn’t guarantee success of course, but the vibes have changed exponentially in the desert. Which portends good things for Rogers and the Raiders offensive line.
However, much like last offseason, Rogers finds himself steeped in impressing another coaching staff and fighting for a a starting gig. With Kubiak’s desert marauders engaged in training camp with veterans slated to report this coming Tuesday, the opportunities are there. And based on his play in the final six games of the 2025 season, the Year 2 bar for Rogers is going from promising rookie to a regular starter at guard.
Expect the competition on both sides of the Raiders trenches to be lively in camp and likely preseason games. For Kubiak’s offense to have any success in his inaugural season helming an NFL team, Las Vegas’ offensive line needs marked improvement. Dennison’s work with the big uglies will dictate much of the Raiders success and failures this coming season.
Fortunately for both coaches, there’s talent in the offensive trenches.
For much of the offseason, free agent addition Spencer Burford and incumbent Jackson Powers-Johnson took most of the early first-team repetitions at left and right guard, respectively. By all accounts and appearances heading into training camp, the two guard spots have the heaviest concentration of competition. Kolton Miller is entrenched at...
