The Raiders are Rolling the Dice

Raider Nation is overwhelmed with optimism as Head Coach Pete Carroll readies the Raiders for battle. A major step forward is widely expected, while and the most positive, and silver-and-black colored-glasses wearing supporter sees their team going much farther and hoisting a Lombardi in February. But if it goes wrong, General Manager John Spytek and Head Coach Pete Carroll may find themselves selling off popular pieces of the puzzle for picks in '26.

Now the hope is that Vegas extends two players with expiring deals, WR Jakobi Meyers and LT Kolton Miller. But if the state of the season is tattered and torn, the mice and men in the desert may have to have a yard sale featuring Meyers and Miller. On the latest episode of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast, On SI Senior Writer Hondo Carpenter answered an email from a listener raising the question of the fate of the two veteran standouts.

"All right, let's stop right there. If they go into this season and have not extended him [Meyers], they are rolling the dice," explained Carpenter. "There is a major market for Jakobi. People have already called the Raiders two years in a row wanting to know if he's available. And this could be a Robert Spillane [situation] I mean, you got a guy who doesn't drop passes, and so you run a risk of either having to franchise him at the end of the year or losing him.

"So it's unfathomable to me they don't want to resign him. I don't believe that, by the way, I do believe they do. And I don't believe in doing deals during the season. I've seen deals getting worked out where it really affects players, because whether you want it to or not, it's your money. And so you know Kolton Miller, who I love and admire and respect, when he goes out there and says, 'I'm not even thinking about that', well, I don't think he's lying, but you are thinking about that," continued Hondo.

"But if you're going to roll the dice and go to the end of the year, you're going to way overpay them. If they play the way they've been playing, you're going to way overpay them or lose them. So as much as I don't want the Raiders to lose them, you've got to at least consider, if I do lose them, what about my compensation, or am I willing to franchise them? So you only got one franchise tag. So to me, this is a no brainer. Get the deals done before the start of the season, or do you consider a trade where at least you get something back? Because you are rolling the dice,"