Pete Carroll describes roster turnover heading into first season as Raiders coach

When head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek joined the Las Vegas Raiders, they inherited a roster with many of its best players set to hit free agency.

While some were excited about the possibility of potentially working with the pair, the allure of other teams proved greater. The Raiders lost several players almost immediately as free agency began, particularly on defense. As a result, Carroll and Spytek’s strategy during their first offseason has shifted as more holes on the roster began to open up.

Moving on from so many players leaves the Raiders in a difficult spot for 2025, something that Carroll touched upon recently.

Carroll discussed his thoughts on how the offseason has gone for the Raiders so far.

Carroll mentioned how the initial plan for the Raiders was to keep more of their pending free agents, but other interested teams gave more than what the Raiders were willing to give.

“I think I said early on we’d like to keep our guys. That was the truth because that’s all we had. And so, as we entered into the process, we found out that there was a lot of guys that were interested. And so, we made each decision one at a time, and I thought John [Spytek] did a great job of giving us an opportunity,” Carroll said.

Despite all of the roster turnover, the Raiders still have plenty of positives to take away from this offseason. Maxx Crosby‘s contract extension was settled before it became a major issue, while adding quarterback Geno Smith immediately raises the floor on the Raiders for the upcoming season. Along with the other moves this offseason, Carroll admitted how impressed he is with how quickly Spytek and the Raiders pivoted to alternative options.

“I think we got better. In managing the process, we had to spread that money around, make all those cool decisions that you’ve got to make, and I thought John was right on it. I’m thrilled about the guys we picked up. Let’s start with Geno [Smith] on the offensive side, but particularly on the defensive side, we hit some numbers,” Carroll continued.

Carroll and the Raiders now hope they can get some early chemistry out of the new group coming in as they hope for a quick turnaround this season.