When the Raiders were trading for wide receiver Davante Adams, signing defensive end Chandler Jones and extending the contracts of players like Derek Carr and Darren Waller to contract extensions last year, it didn’t feel like the team felt it was a long way away from contending for a playoff spot in the AFC but the message from team owner Mark Davis was different this week.
The Raiders went to the playoffs in 2021 before slipping to 6-11 last year. Neither Carr nor Waller remains on the roster as head coach Josh McDaniels and General Manager Dave Ziegler move into their second season with the team and those results have left Davis to talk about the team taking a measured path back to on-field success.
“Unfortunately, every time you change there is going to be changes that those people are going to see but you have to give them time to understand the changes,” Davis said, via Vic Tafur of TheAthletic.com. “I know that a lot of people can watch film and think that they know it all, but watching film doesn’t give you all the answers. You need to watch the games and be there to get the full picture. So, yeah, you gotta have patience.”
One way to sell patience is to stockpile young talent that can build the foundation of a winner in the future, but the Raiders have not hit often enough in the draft under any of their recent regimes. Changing that next month would be a good way to build belief that the long view will be a pleasant one in Las Vegas.