Hope has been hard to come by in Las Vegas in recent years, but the Raiders finally have something that looks like a real foundation. The common thread running through the entire organization is youth - in the front office, on the sideline and all over the roster.
That starts at the top with John Spytek, who turned 46 in August. He’s paired now with Klint Kubiak, a 39-year-old head coach whose first priority is building something lasting instead of forcing a quick fix.
That alignment matters. Last year, Pete Carroll and Spytek were not moving in the same direction: Carroll was trying to squeeze production out of a roster that wasn’t built to win, while Spytek was laying the groundwork for a rebuild.
It’s no surprise Spytek remained in place in Las Vegas.
The Raiders have leaned into that reset everywhere else, too. Rather than spending on older veterans to patch holes for a year or two, the front office targeted young talent in free agency and the draft. The result is an initial 53-man roster with an average age of just a little over 26 years old.
That age number will likely come down even more in 2027. A few of the older names helping pull it up - quarterback Kirk Cousins, kicker Matt Gay and tight end Ian Thomas - are not expected to be under contract next year.
What makes this setup interesting is that the Raiders are not just young. They’re young and still capable of competing right now.
This isn’t a Super Bowl roster, but it is a group that can stay in games and has a real chance to double last year’s win total. If that happens, Las Vegas will be ahead of schedule.
If it doesn’t, there’s still no need to panic, because the age of the staff, the roster and the front office gives this thing room to grow.
The youth movement showed up again when The Athletic released its list of 50 NFL coaches, executives and strategists who are “changing the league.” Kubiak made the cut, along with Raiders director of college scouting Brandon Yeargan. Kubiak’s inclusion makes sense after he won a Super Bowl as offensive coordinator a year ago, but Yeargan’s recognition is another sign that the organization’s younger voices are getting noticed.
For the Raiders, that’s the point. The building is young, and the people inside it are growing together.
In Other News...
Raiders QB Plan Already Comes With One Big Problem
The Raiders have already settled on their quarterback plan for 2026, putting Kirk Cousins at the top of the depth chart over rookie Fernando Mendoza and Aidan OConnell. Klint Kubiaks decision leans heavily on Cousins experience and leadership, a sensible enough place to start for a team trying to steady itself and avoid another season of uncertainty under center.
But the choice still comes with an obvious catch for Las Vegas, because the biggest question around the offense may not be who is taking the snaps so much as who is keeping the pocket intact. If the offensive line continues to be an issue, the case for Mendoza as the longer-term answer only gets stronger, and the Raiders could find themselves weighing present-day stability against a future built on better protection. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Offense Suddenly Has One Touches Question Fans Can't Ignore
The Raiders head into 2026 with an offense that looks very different from the one fans have been sorting through for the past few seasons, and the roster changes give this group a very different kind of ceiling. Kirk Cousins brings the passing-game structure, Brock Bowers remains the kind of weapon defenses have to account for on every snap, and Ashton Jeanty adds a layer of backfield power that can shape how the whole unit is used. Add in young pass-catchers like Tre Tucker and Malik Benson, plus Mike Washington Jr. as another name to watch in the mix, and there are enough moving parts here to make the offense feel loaded with possibilities.
What makes it interesting is how tightly all of those roles may connect once the season starts. If Cousins is throwing at a steady clip, Bowers and the receivers can feed off that volume, while Jeantys workload could determine how balanced or pass-heavy the offense becomes from week to week. For bettors looking at individual markets, that creates a familiar Raiders question with a new cast: which player is actually set up to get the touches that matter most, and which one is going to be left waiting for opportunity? [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Offensive Staff Overhaul Says Everything About Last Seasons Problems
The Raiders changes on offense say plenty about how the organization felt about last seasons problems, especially up front. Las Vegas struggled with its offensive line in 2025, and internal sources described the coaching there as among the worst they had seen, a stinging assessment that helps explain why the team moved quickly to reset that side of the ball.
Rick Dennison arrives as the new offensive line coach for 2026, with the expectation that he can bring cleaner fundamentals and better technique to a unit that badly needed both. The overhaul did not stop there, either, as the Raiders also upgraded at quarterbacks coach by hiring Mike Sullivan, whose long NFL background and prior working relationship with offensive coordinator Kubiak should give the staff more continuity as it tries to stabilize the offense. [Read more 🡒]