Why Raiders' Offseason Progression Has No Ceiling

Las Vegas' front office left no stone unturned this offseason in its efforts to revamp its roster. Each move the Raiders made was a quality move that helped in one way or another. Entering the 2026 season, the Raiders have unquestionably improved. Now they must prove as much on the field.

Of all the improvements the Raiders made this offseason, they made the most progress at the quarterback position. In addition to the fact that it is the most critical position on the field, quarterback is the position Las Vegas has struggled with the most in recent seasons.

Las Vegas quickly revamped its quarterback group, which, like several position groups on its roster, has ranked near the bottom of the league recently. The respective additions of Kirk Cousins, Fernando Mendoza, and the rest of the Raiders' coaching staff on offense were monumental.

This has already been the most important and most productive offseason Las Vegas has had in many years. Training camp will give the Raiders a chance to build on the work and progress already done. The importance of the next few weeks cannot be overstated.

Key Factors

The Raiders have watched several quarterbacks come and go over the past couple of seasons. Las Vegas has been unable to find a quarterback who could sustain any success, which has been a major reason the Raiders have performed so poorly lately. They did all they could to eliminate this need.

Along with Kubiak, Cousins, and Mendoza, the Raiders also added assistant head coach Mike McCoy shortly after hiring Kubiak. McCoy has had his fair share of experiences with highly-touted quarterbacks from around the league. He recently noted how the process is coming along.

“I think the great thing the way Klint [Kubiak], Andrew [Janocko], and the entire offensive staff are teaching this offense to the offense about the anticipation, the footwork, if it's one hitch, if it's two hitch, where you're going with the ball, and then they’re sticklers on it. They are on it every single play. They're always talking about the mechanics of everything,” McCoy said.

“But I think the biggest adjustment, or one of the biggest adjustments besides the speed, is just the anticipation you have to play with at this level, because what is open in this league, you have got to understand that. A tight window that's open, and you got to anticipate the ball placement and certain things." 

“Aidan's [O’Connell] a great example down there, and Kirk [Cousins], you look at also, like in the red area, the way you throw the ball on the goal line versus the back end line, low on the front, high on the back, those little things that make a difference at this level you've got to learn.”

The Raiders have work to do to ensure the position group is ready to go before Week 1. However, it is fair to assume that work will get done, and Las Vegas' offense will be much better than it was the last time it took the field. Still, only time will tell whether or not that will be the case.

All on the Same Page

One thing that has been noticeable this offseason is that the Raiders seem to be on the same page, from the front office down to the players on the field. It has been a while since that was the case in Las Vegas. That should only help the Raiders expedite their rebuild.

Like McCoy, Raiders offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko has also made it a point to emphasize the nuances of the quarterback position. It is evident that the Raiders plan to fix the most troublesome spot on their roster sooner, rather than later.

"That goes back a long way, that something we believe in whether it started with the quarterback position, but it really is everything about our offense that we build ourselves, we build our brains, and then we build ourselves from the ground up,” Janocko said. 

“So, if you're listening to your feet, whether you're a quarterback and you're progressing on time within your footwork, or you're an offensive lineman and you're gaining ground on your first step, or you're a receiver, and how are my feet helping to contribute to my route depth? All those things, are we gaining ground on our first step in the wide zone? So everything, our building blocks start there." 

The Raiders will take the next few weeks to smooth out the rest of their roster and continue laying the foundation of a new era under Kubiak. However, as they do so, all eyes will be on Las Vegas' quarterback position, which has been the Raiders' Achilles' heel for many years now.

There is no question that the Raiders have a better group of quarterbacks and a better roster overall than they have had lately. Yet Kubiak has also stressed the importance of training camp to his team's goal of proving it during the 2026 regular season.

"We're an improved team. Our guys have taken the coaching. They're doing everything we ask them to do. I definitely see an improvement from where we started, and this time of year, you can kind of get lulled to sleep when the pads aren't on. So, what team that we're going to become, we'll find out come training camp when we put pads on," Kubiak said following mandatory minicamp.