With just two victories and nine defeats of all varieties — close heartbreak to lopsided beatdowns — the 2025 campaign has gone terribly awry for the Las Vegas Raiders.

It’s a season where head coach Pete Carroll dismiss two of his coordinators. First was special teams boss Tom McMahon after the team’s Week 10 10-7 loss to the Denver Broncos. And most recently, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly after Las Vegas’ 24-10 home loss to the Cleveland Browns this past Sunday.

The firings were not without cause.

Blocked punts and a field goal along with explosive returns allowed and missed tackles scuttled McMahon’s tenure in the desert. Kelly, meanwhile, helmed a group which failed to score more than 10 points four times in the nine tilts. That’s one holdover from the previous regimes (McMahon) and a newcomer who reportedly was the highest-paid offensive play caller in the NFL (Kelly, who was allegedly making an average of $6 million per year to come to Las Vegas from Ohio State).

So out goes Kelly and in comes a familiar face and name to Raider Nation as the interim offensive coordinator: Greg Olson.

Carroll, who is Captain Positivity and stubborn in his old age, is steadfast on winning ballgames — as any head coach should. But the Raiders’ focus in the remaining six games should be equal parts present and future. Gauging the offseason needs the rest of the way is vital.

And that should include playing rookies and younger players to help spotlight areas of opportunity.

After all, general manager John Spytek, his personnel group, alongside Carroll allocated valuable draft resources this past April on a number of prospects and outside sixth overall pick Ashton Jeanty, the return on investment (ROI) hasn’t been ideal.

The clamoring for the Raiders to involve second-round wide receiver Jack Bech (58th overall) and third-round cornerback Darien Porter (68th overall) grows louder by the minute. Ditto for third-round offensive lineman Caleb Rogers (98th overall) and Charles Grant (99th overall). Especially as the team’s struggles in all three phases continues to be ever-present.

When pressed on getting Rogers and Grant gameday opportunities after quarterback Geno Smith was sacked a staggering 10 times in the loss to the Browns, Carroll noted the third-round selections are not game-ready.

“That’s one way to look at it. You could just try something else, but we watch practice every day, and we watch the film. We do our work to make our evaluations, and those guys are going to have their day,” Carroll explained in the postgame press conference after the Week 12 loss. “They’re going to have their time, maybe sooner than later, but based on what we’ve seen and what we know, we give it the best shot we can.”

A day later and after watching the film, Carroll’s answer didn’t change when asked about young players getting more playing time.

Now, let’s not get it twisted.

It’s not like Carroll is outright refusing to let young Raiders get valuable gameday snaps. Jeanty, the talented Boise State running back, is an 11-game starter at 22 years old (74.04 percent of the total offensive snaps; 166 carries, 604 yard, four touchdowns; 37 receptions, 221 yards, four touchdowns), as is right tackle DJ Glaze (23 years old; 99.85 percent of the Raiders offensive snaps), and wide receiver Tre Tucker (24 years old; 93.81 percent snaps; 41 receptions for 530 yards, four touchdowns).

Tight ends Brock Bower (23; 45 receptions, 510 yards, three touchdowns) and Michael Mayer (24; 22 catches, 182 yards, one touchdown) alongside defensive tackle Jonah Laulu (25; 29 total tackles, four sacks) are other obvious names.

Then there’s cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly (24; 540 defensive snaps, 74.79 percent; 37 total tackles, two interceptions, five pass deflections), center/guard Will Putnam (25; 139 snaps mostly coming in last three games due to injury).

Gameday actives are a numbers game, without question. But it’s difficult to see younger Raiders being worse than the others in front of them — particularly on an ailing offensive line and leaky secondary. Even if Carroll notes the team is putting out the best options at respective positions.

There are a number of unknowns still on the roster and the more intel Carroll and Spytek can gather, the better equipped they’ll be for continued roster building this offseason — if they remain or they go. Live snaps are exponentially valuable to younger players as is the game tape to pour over — be it the current regime or potentially a new one.

And let’s be honest here. With a remaining slate that reads: At Los Angeles Chargers; versus Denver Broncos; at Philadelphia Eagles; at Houston Texans; versus New York Giants; and versus Kansas City Chiefs, there’s potential for more losses on the horizon.

Thus, the Raiders have more to gain getting younger players in the mix than staying with the status quo.

By The Numbers
Raiders Rookie Snap Counts