Most of the focus with the Las Vegas Raiders is about their quarterback situation, but the Raiders have several other important decisions to make. One is about free-agent, defensive end Malcolm Koonce, whose contract status will affect the Raiders’ offseason the most, according to Ryan McFadden of ESPN.
Koonce had an interesting season this year. After missing the 2024 season due to a knee injury, he had what McFadden called a “quiet return to action for the most part.” Koonce played in 17 games, starting in three of them, and he had 30 tackles to go with 4.5 sacks.
Those are fairly middling numbers for a defensive end, especially with fellow end Maxx Crosby consistently occupying two blockers on the other side. You can make a strong argument that Koonce should have showed out more, and he did look good early, but the Raiders had so many issues in so many positional groups that it was tough for anyone to shine once things started going downhill.
Koonce’s contract vs performance situation presents an interesting dilemma. He’s 27, and his sack numbers peaked at eight in 2023, i.e., before he was injured. He played for just over $11 million this past season, which is far over the value he provided.
The defensive end was productive against the run, however. Koonce might seem a little undersized for that role at 6’2” 250 pounds but he graded out with a positive at 66.1 according to Pro Football Focus (over 80 is the gold standard), with 15 solo tackles and seven assisted tackles to go with what PFF had as five sacks and 22 hurries. He played a total of 501 snaps, as the defensive end was part of a rotation that had some moments before the offense stumbled and kept the defense on the field for far too long for Las Vegas.
So is Koonce really a keeper? That depends on two things: (1) his contract demands (2) what the Raiders are going to with Maxx Crosby on the other side. Koonce might need another one-year deal to rehabilitate his career after the knee injury, and if he does that, McFadden pegs him as a solid depth piece. But if he wants a longer deal, the Raiders probably aren’t a good fit given the extent of their rebuild.
Letting him walk feels like an even smarter decision if the Raiders decide to trade Crosby for draft capital. This is very up in the air right now, and the decision won’t be made until the Raiders finally hire a coach, which may not happen until next week. Las Vegas is basically starting over again, and the Raiders are going to need all the cap flexibility and draft capital they can get going forward, so spending more than a few million on a player like Koonce doesn't make a lot of sense.