Raiders’ rebuilt linebacker room offers hope: ‘That’s a loaded-up group’
Pete Carroll will welcome a slightly different Raiders team to training camp next month than the one he said goodbye to Thursday.
Veteran linebacker Germaine Pratt, who the club signed to a one-year contract, was not on the field for the final day of its mandatory minicamp. But he’ll push for a starting job in training camp in July, along with veterans Elandon Roberts and Devin White.
Carroll is excited about adding a player as productive as Pratt, who was released by the Bengals on Monday in a cost-cutting move. Pratt, 29, played 96 games during his six years in Cincinnati and made 616 tackles, including a career-high 143 last season. The Raiders waived safety Jonathan Sutherland in a corresponding move.
“(Pratt is) really hard-nosed, really healthy, has played all the positions to give us a flexibility that really will help us,” Carroll said.
Carroll also praised Roberts and White, who signed one-year deals with the Raiders this offseason, for their work so far. He sees all three linebackers contributing this year.
“To put these three guys together, when they’re on the field at the same time, that’s a loaded-up group,” Carroll said. “They’re all tough and they’re all physical and they’re all downhill players, which is the style that we love to play with.”
Revamped room
The Raiders’ linebacker room will look much different this year.
Starters Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo left in free agency to join the Patriots and Falcons, respectively. The Raiders brought in Roberts and White as replacements, then grabbed Minnesota’s Cody Lindenberg in the seventh round of the draft in April. They also signed veteran Jaylon Smith after having him try out at their rookie minicamp.
Roberts and White were the Raiders’ starters through organized team activities and the mandatory minicamp. Lindenberg, Smith and Tommy Eichenberg, a 2024 fifth-round pick, were the primary backups.
Roberts and White have much to prove next year.
Roberts, 31, saw his production fall off in a major way for the Steelers last season. He had 101 tackles and 2½ sacks in 2023, but just 46 tackles and one sack a year ago.
White, 27, was limited to seven games last year with the Texans because of injuries. That caused him to finish with just 19 tackles. He averaged 113 tackles per season his first five years in the NFL with the Buccaneers.
White has looked healthy with the Raiders and said he’s “able to just be myself” again. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham is excited about what White’s versatility can do for the team.
“He’s played all over the field before,” Graham said. “He’s been productive, both in the run (game), in the pass game, in different ways. Whether it’s blitzing, whether it’s covering people, whether it’s manipulating the front.”
Pratt enters mix
More and more teams are opting to play with two linebackers in their base defense in the NFL, and swap one out for an extra defensive back on obvious passing downs.
The Raiders have done that this offseason so far, with Jeremy Chinn moving down from his safety spot to replace White or Roberts and safety Lonnie Johnson Jr. joining the secondary.
Adding Pratt gives the team a chance to have a three-linebacker package as well. Which would give the Raiders an extra tool at their disposal to disrupt opposing offenses.
“The thing about the NFL, every season is a season of change, so we get accustomed to it,” Graham said. “Each week is a week of change.”
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.
