How Raiders' Offseason Addition Is Already Proving Valuable

Low-Risk, High-Reward Addition

The Raiders signed veteran linebacker Devin White after he had a down season last season. The former first-round draft pick wanted to prove that he can still play at a high level. It was evident in training camp that he could, but his performance on Sunday confirmed it.

Following the Raiders' win on Sunday, Pete Carroll credited White with a solid performance after the veteran linebacker led the team in tackles with 11. Eight of those tackles were solo tackles. It was only one game, but the Raiders have reason to be excited about White.

“Yeah, he was a hammer. He looked good. I was really excited that his presence was so obvious. He's had a couple years where his game hasn't been at that level that he played at yesterday, and so he's just getting going and had fun playing. He handled a lot of communication, and he hit the heck out of it. So that was really encouraging, really fired up for him,” Carroll said.

“I thought, really, since after the first three or four weeks he was with us – I didn't know him very well, didn't understand him – but since he kind of tapped in with us and he had to kind of feel his way because he'd been kicked around a bit in other places and it hadn’t worked out right. But once he started to feel the rhythm of it, I think yesterday was just a continuation of what's been happening," Carroll said.

Carroll noted that White, and linebacker Elandon Roberts have worked hard on their communication. On Sunday, White took his game to another level when Roberts suffered an injury early in the game.

"He and E-Rob [Elandon Roberts] have been communicating on a great level, and he's helping our guys out with his calls and his experience. He has a really good sense for the game. He’s a real natural football player. And so, he's going to keep getting better," Carroll said.