​For the longest time, I teased a question: which position group would the Silver & Black fix first—the linebackers or the quarterbacks? The rationale for the playful inquiry should be evident. Beyond occasional flashes here and there, the Las Vegas Raiders’ puzzle at those two spots lingered, a constant across seasons.
This offseason, however, the Silver & Black embarked on a more deliberate mission to address the longstanding concerns at those two positions. General manager John Spytek and his scouting staff, working alongside contracts guru Tom Delaney and Julia Ayres, synchronized cap space to land two elite linebackers, Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker, with rich contracts when free agency opened in mid-March. Then, about a month later, the team invested further in veteran Kirk Cousins and selected Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza No. 1 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft to set the course at quarterback.
Let’s focus on the linebackers.
The Raiders secured Walker with a three-year, $40.5 million deal, $28 million of which is guaranteed. Dean signed a three-year, $36 million pact with $20 million guaranteed. The $13.5 million per year for Walker and $12 million per year for Dean reflect a high-end spending spree, especially when compared to the value-oriented approach Spytek employed in his first season as Las Vegas’ chief personnel man. There were no flier signings and no wholesale position changes—unlike the Jamal Adams move from safety to linebacker last season. Instead, the Raiders pursued two proven commodities on very lucrative deals to address a clear area of need.
Walker and Dean—the formidable Georgia Bulldog pairing—are the unquestioned frontrunners for inside linebacker roles in defensive coordinator Rob Leonard’s 3-4 base defense. The main concern with the new additions is Dean’s durability. Unlike his college teammate and fellow Lions partner in Las Vegas, the 5-foot-11, 230-pound linebacker has missed 25 regular-season games over his four NFL seasons to date. And while he’s been in the building, he hasn’t been an active participant in the Raiders’ offseason program so far.
Fortunately for Las Vegas, late-round picks from the 2024 and 2025 drafts provide depth in Tommy Eichenberg and Cody Lindenberg. Known to Raider Nation as “The Bergs,” the pair established themselves as core special-team contributors, but the bigger question remains: can they become more than role players on Joe DeCamillis’ various units? It’s within the realm of possibility, but the climb will be steep for both Eichenberg and Lindenberg. The young linebackers must rapidly improve their pass-coverage skills, differentiate themselves from veterans at the position, and capitalize on every snap when the Raiders reconvene for training camp later this month. “So, I just try to keep them with the right mindset, as in, ‘Man, this is everything you worked for,’” a source close to the team noted, underscoring the challenge and the opportunity ahead.