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NFL Executive Predicts Raiders Win Total in 2025

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Levi Dombro | Last updated Apr 4, 2025 6:47 PM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders were crippled by poor quarterback play a season ago, but new general manager John Spytek solved that problem this offseason by trading for the Seattle Seahawks' Geno Smith. While most in the league looked favorably upon this acquisition, not everyone is sold on head coach Pete Carroll's Raiders. The Athletic's Mike Sando has been gathering intel from NFL executives, and one provided a prediction for Las Vegas' win total in 2025.

"I don’t know if the rest of the team is going to be reflective of Geno’s ceiling this year," said one NFL executive. "But I think they will win 8-9 games."

Winning eight or nine games this season would be a dramatic improvement from a year ago, but this is not exactly the vote of confidence that Raider Nation wants from an NFL front office member. This team and fan base have been stuck in mediocrity for so long that a near .500 record feels both uninspiring and unproductive.

Coach Carroll has a 58.6% career winning percentage, so perhaps this prediction will not be too far off, but this Raider team may surprise a lot of people next season. It is easy to look at all of the pieces they lost on defense in free agency and hit the panic button, but the team made a massive upgrade at the most important position in the sport.

They filled out their front office and coaching staff with experienced winners, which is incredibly important for a rebuilding franchise. They may win eight or nine games this season, but it shouldn't be too much longer before Las Vegas is seriously competing in the AFC.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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