Raiders free agent gamble pays off spectacularly

When the Las Vegas Raiders signed linebacker Devin White this offseason, many considered the move as signing a veteran flier to bolster the linebacker depth.

While White had not played meaningful snaps since 2023, he was reunited with general manager John Spytek, who was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they drafted the LSU product fifth overall in 2019. His tenure with the Bucs ended on a sour note, but Spytek knew what White could bring to a team and took a gamble on him. Competing with other veteran signings, White entered training camp having to fight to secure a roster spot.

As fate would have it, White not only remained on the roster, but showed exactly why Spytek and the coaching staff were right to keep the faith.

White was one of the best players on defense for the Raiders in Week One.

Pressed into an increased role in Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots after starting linebacker Elandon Roberts exited early with an elbow injury, White put together an excellent game.

Helping his new team to a 20-13 victory, White lead the Raiders with 11 tackles. It was the first time since 2023 that White recorded double-digit tackles in a single game. It made for a great first impression with the Raiders, especially due to the sudden increase in responsibilities, and it got head coach Pete Carroll excited about the future.

“He was a hammer. He looked good. I was really excited that his presence was so obvious,” Carroll said, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “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.”

It was an encouraging start of the season for White and the Raiders defense, which entered the season with serious question marks in multiple spots.

“For me, it’s a great start,” White said. “It’s just one game, but we can build off this with momentum and energy. Individually, it doesn’t mean much to me. I just have to get back to the drawing board and be consistent with what I put out today because I can be that person all year. I played at a high level for a long time. Had a couple setbacks, but I don’t dwell on the past. I focus on the future and the controllables and that means going in tomorrow and getting ready for the next one.”

White and the Raiders now hope for a repeat performance against the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday to get the team off to a 2-0 start.