Jeremy Chinn compares Raiders to former team

When free agency started in March, Jeremy Chinn signed a two-year, $16 million contract to join the Las Vegas Raiders.

The veteran safety appealed to the Raiders for his defensive leadership and ability to play multiple positions. It also helped that Chinn was coming off a career year with the Washington Commanders, tying his personal best of 117 tackles and creating new career highs in sacks (two) and tackles for loss (seven). Standing out at OTAs, general manager John Spytek took to praising his big free agent signing.

“He’s got such an amazing skill set for a man of his size,” Spytek said. “And you love the intelligence and the instincts that go with it.”

With the Raiders, Chinn is now committed to sparking a turnaround with his new team.

Chinn drew parallels between the Raiders and last year’s Commanders during OTAs.

“Having guys like that, I think it starts there and it’s great because I’ve seen it last season being in Washington,” Chinn said, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Adam Hill. “Obviously it’s a different team, a different place, different situation, but I’ve seen what it takes to be able to just kind of have that immediate turnaround, and I think it starts with the guys in the locker room, and I truly believe we have the right people in our locker room.”

Ironically enough, Chinn signed with the Commanders after they went 4-13 the previous year, which is the same record the Raiders had in 2024.

Joining Commanders head coach Dan Quinn, Chinn was part of a new influx of talent that helped carry Washington to an improbable run to the NFC Championship Game. Now under Quinn’s former mentor in Pete Carroll, Chinn is hoping for a similar outcome with the Raiders.

“I was really excited with for the opportunity to work with him,” Chinn said about his new head coach. “He was someone when I was coming out of college, I kind of thought maybe I was going to go to Seattle and kind of have a certain role there and be able to play under coach Carroll. But obviously, paths go different ways, and I’m grateful for the path that I had and the path that I’ve taken. But having this opportunity now and being able to talk to him during that process, it was kind of a no-brainer for me.”

If the Raiders want to benefit from a Commanders-esque turnaround, Chinn will play a similar role with his new team.