Jul 24, 2025; Henderson, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders coach Pete Carroll during training camp at the Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Are the Raiders Set Up for the Next Five Years?

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Fernando Alfaro-Donis | Last updated Aug 20, 2025 12:30 PM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders' outlook on next season and the next couple of years is among the brightest in the NFL. Their offense is set up with Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers looking like top-tier players at their positions, and a defense that's anchored by Maxx Crosby and intriguing players like Tyree Wilson and Malcolm Koonce.

Yet despite all this, they weren't ranked very highly in an article published by FOX Sports, ranking each NFL team by how prepared they are f or the future. Ralph Vacchiano has them in the bottom five in the league, with his reasoning being their age at crucial positions.

Bright Future Ahead?

"They are an odd franchise to try and decipher, both for the short and long term. They certainly don’t look like a short-term winner. And long term … well, Pete Carroll will be 79 in 2030 and their current QB, Geno Smith, will be 39, so the odds are pretty good of a franchise reset long before then", said Vacchiano.

The Raiders are a team that's improved in the short term, and even if Geno Smith isn't their long-term answer at quarterback, he raises their floor dramatically for the next few seasons. Pete Carroll has shown he has no problem coaching at an old age, and it's clear he has a plan for this franchise for the next couple of years.

"Maybe new GM John Spytek is the right guy to run things, and maybe Tom Brady’s influence will really help. But it’s hard to count on stability under the unpredictable Marc Davis. On the bright side, there’s some good, young talent like TE Brock Bowers and RB Ashton Jeanty. Even Maxx Crosby would only be 3 3 then, though his current megadeal would have to be extended. But who knows who’ll be running the show in Vegas by then?".

I agree that it may be hard to predict how the next five years will go for the Raiders, but having them as a bottom-five team is ludicrous. Even if Aidan O'Connell or Cam Miller aren't franchise quarterbacks, they still have some time to find their next quarterback of the future due to them extending Smith's contract.

Like most teams in the NFL, without a franchise quarterback, the Raiders would be dead in the water. The supporting cast in Las Vegas will only continue to get better, and it's only a matter of time before a quarterback in free agency decides to take his talents to the Raiders.

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This article first appeared on Las Vegas Raiders on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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