The Las Vegas Raiders made no shortage of changes during the 2025 NFL offseason. New head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek both bring winning pedigrees to the desert, and they are focused on doing things their way.
Unfortunately, this meant fan favorites like Robert Spillane and Nate Hobbs were not re-signed, but the new regime brought in several new and exciting players. Free agency netted them a few strong veterans and they took 11 rookies in this year's draft.
Now that the offseason program is completed, Pete Carroll took time during last week's press conference to reflect on how OTAs and mandatory minicamp went.
Las Vegas Raiders offensive guard Laki Tasi.
Las Vegas Raiders offensive guard Laki Tasi.
Candice Ward-Imagn Images
One of the things that Carroll touched on was his favorite player to watch during the offseason.
"My favorite guy out there to watch is Laki Tasi," Carroll admitted. "He knows nothing about football when he walks in the door, and he's made tremendous progress. He's enormous, he's the biggest guy you ever saw, and I think he weighed in at weigh-ins the other day (at) 369 (pounds)."
Tasi came to Las Vegas from Australia through the International Player Pathway (IPP). He is a rugby player by trade, but earned a spot with the Raiders through this pathway as a defensive lineman.
However, the team has already switched him to offensive guard. His learning curve will be steep, but he has all the physical characteristics to be a great trench player in the NFL.
"He's learning, we got to keep an eye on him, it's an exciting process," Carroll said. "I don't know how long it's going to take, but he's starting from ground zero and he's made a lot of progress so far."
The Raiders could use help on the interior offensive line, specifically the guard positions. While Dylan Parham and Jordan Meredith both performed well last season, neither is under contract for next season.
Free agent addition Alex Cappa is on the decline of his career, and rookie third-rounder Caleb Rogers is also an unproven commodity at the NFL level.
Because Tasi is from the IPP, the Raiders can keep him around and he will not count toward the roster number. This means that he can spend the entire season in Las Vegas learning the ropes and eventually become a strong contributor.