The Las Vegas Raiders have had a great offseason thus far; it spent a lot of money in free agency and had a nice draft. Owner Mark Davis commented on his team's offseason success.
The Las Vegas Raiders may have had a rough 2025 campaign, finishing 3-14 and securing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 National Football League draft, but owner Mark Davis is quite thrilled with how the offseason has gone.
Davis has owned the team since his father, Al, passed away in Oct. 2011, leaving him in control of the team. Prior to his induction in the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame on May 8, Davis commented on the Raiders’ offseason and expressed how thrilled he is with how it has gone up to this point.
“The offseasons have been very strong for us," Davis said on Raider Nation Radio Thursday via Raiders.com. "We continually win the offseason, it's time to now make it translate to the regular season. I do feel a different vibe around this building right now. Everybody really is working together. Everybody seems to be on the same page. It seems like we're ready to go for a long-term, sustained growth now.”
The process was jumpstarted by the firing of former head coach Pete Carroll and hiring of Super Bowl-winning offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Kubiak is viewed as the next best offensive mind in the sport and is highly respected around the league, hence why many teams were interested in his services.
Then came free agency – the Raiders signed many free agents using its $90-plus million in salary cap space and improved at several positions on both sides of the ball. The most notable moves include signing the top free agent center, Tyler Linderbaum, and two great linebackers in Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean.
Improve the worst offensive line in football? Check. Improve an old and poor coverage linebacker room? Check. The Raiders checked a lot of boxes during free agency, but perhaps the biggest box checked off was getting the franchise quarterback.
With the No. 1 overall pick, the Raiders unsurprisingly selected Indiana QB and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza. It’s unclear whether Mendoza gets the keys right away or if veteran Kirk Cousins steps in to start for a few weeks, but Mendoza is clearly the future of the franchise and there’s a lot to love about the 22-year-old.
“With Fernando Mendoza coming in as potentially the starting quarterback is just so exciting,” said Davis. “We've got the pieces in place, it's going to take a while to get all the players and everything, but I believe we're at the forefront of getting this thing going again.”
The Raiders haven’t had a winning season since 2021, but things are certainly looking up and who knows, with a last-place schedule and many improvements all throughout the organization, Las Vegas could make a lot of noise in 2026.