Raiders still have glaring needs that must be addressed

Free agency continues to be difficult for the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Silver and Black signed restricted free agent linebacker Christian Elliss to an offer sheet on March 19. However, the New England Patriots ended up matching the offer on Monday, and ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler reported that the deal is for $13.5M over two years, which turned out to be good news for Elliss and bad news for the hard-luck Raiders.

Las Vegas could have used Elliss after losing starting linebacker Robert Spillane and edge rusher K'Lavon Chaisson to New England in free agency.

Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review Journal suggested that the Raiders could still get Elliss through a trade with the Patriots, calling it "a possibility." If the Raiders were to trade for Elliss, they could give up a draft pick and take on the $13.5M that he signed with the Patriots since the team has $50M in cap space, according to Over The Cap. 

John Spytek is learning a lot in his first year as the Raiders general manager. It hasn't been easy for him after a slow start to free agency. There are a lot of glaring holes that Spytek still needs to address, and one of them is the linebacker position. Had Elliss joined the Raiders, he would have likely been a starter since he's a solid run-stopper, something the Raiders desperately need.

The only linebacker the Raiders have signed in free agency is Elandon Roberts, formerly of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The other LBs the Raiders have on the roster include Amari Burney, Tommy Eichenberg, Amari Gainer, Jackson Mitchell and Brandon Smith. All but Roberts is unproven, and the Raiders need to find a veteran linebacker to lead the way. 

One option is C.J. Mosley, a former New York Jet who has racked up 1,082 tackles in his 10-year career. He also has 12 sacks and 10 forced fumbles. He would make a key addition. 

Another player the Raiders could look at is former Arizona Cardinal Kyzir White, who has 615 tackles in seven seasons. 

After that, there are no other starting-caliber linebackers who could help the Raiders.

Spytek also needs to address holes at the running back, wide receiver and cornerback positions. Maybe he and head coach Pete Carroll will look at the 2025 NFL Draft to fill those holes, but plenty of quality free agents, both in-house and outside the organization, have slipped past the Raiders.

Fans can only hope that Spytek and Carroll will still come through in free agency and the draft to ease the agony.