With Klint Kubiak (left) joining John Spytek and the Raiders as their head coach, Las Vegas is expected to make significant changes this offseason.
With Klint Kubiak (left) joining John Spytek and the Raiders as their head coach, Las Vegas is expected to make significant changes this offseason.Ethan Miller/Getty
Raiders general manager John Spytek was asked two weeks ago if he wants to target offense or defense this offseason.
“All of it,” Spytek said. “We won three games last year. We’ve got to be super honest with where we’re at.”
The 2026 Raiders will look unrecognizable to the 2025 version shortly after free agency begins this week. Klint Kubiak replaces Pete Carroll at coach. Presumptive No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza will replace Geno Smith at quarterback. Franchise cornerstone Maxx Crosby was traded to the Ravens for two first-round picks.
The Raiders are also armed with a league-high $119 million in salary cap space, knowing they have to surround Mendoza with better receivers and offensive linemen.
“We’ve got a lot of needs to address, and we’ve got a lot of capital to do it,” Spytek said.
Let’s look at the other teams who will look drastically different in 2026:
Titans: With $93 million in salary cap space and a 6-28 record since firing Mike Vrabel, the Titans figure to be one of the league’s most aggressive teams as they look to help Cam Ward with better talent. I sense big moves coming on the offensive line, and at least one big splash at wide receiver, whether it’s stealing Alec Pierce away from the Colts, signing Stefon Diggs (who meshed well with new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll in Buffalo), or trading back for A.J. Brown or D K Metcalf.
Dolphins: They are cleaning house from the Mike McDaniel era. They’ll need a new quarterback, multiple receivers after saying goodbye to Tyreek Hill and Cedrick Wilson, a new tight end to replace Darren Waller, and a new secondary, with almost everyone hitting free agency.
Yet the Dolphins will also be in salary cap hell like no team in NFL history once they release Tua Tagovailoa. Assuming they do it with a post-June 1 release, the Dolphins will carry $67 million in dead salary cap money for Tagovailoa (a record for one player), on top of the $74 million they are already carrying for other players, for a record $140-plus million. I hope new coach Jeff Hafley and GM Jon-Eric Sullivan knew what they were getting themselves into.
Jets: They have an entirely new coaching staff outside of head coach Aaron Glenn. Quarterbacks Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor will soon be gone, with their replacements TBD. The Jets just traded former first-round pick Jermaine Johnson, and figure to move on from other players from the previous regime. Two offensive linemen and three other starters on defense are free agents. And they have $74 million in salary cap space. The Jets should take a shot on Kyler Murray on a one-year, minimum salary deal. What do they have to lose?
Commanders: They swung big in 2025 but struck out with a 5-12 record, and now comes the reckoning. The Commanders have two new coordinators, already released Marshawn Lattimore, and will be shedding several other older players like Deebo Samuel, Von Miller, Austin Ekeler, and Zach Ertz. With $70 million in cap space, the Commanders can sign new free agents and also commit to some youngsters.
Chiefs: The bones will look the same, withPatrick Mahomes under center, Travis Kelce potentially back for a 14th season, and Andy Reid, Steve Spagnuolo and Eric Bieniemy on the sideline.
But the roster fell apart in last year’s 6-11 season and the Chiefs know they have a lot of work to do. They already traded star cornerback Trent McDuffie, getting a first-rounder plus more from the Rams. They’ll need a new receiving corps, with Marquise Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton all free agents, and Rashee Rice potentially in trouble with the league again. They need to get younger at running back with Isaiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt both free agents. And four starters plus several key rotational pieces on defense are free agents.
Chargers: They have $99 million in salary cap space, and figure to use plenty of it to retool an aging and flawed roster. The Chargers will revamp their offensive line, will all three interior starters and several backups hitting free agency. The Chargers need to get Justin Herbert a more dynamic weapon, and figure to move on from free agent receiver Keenan Allen. The Chargers also have four defensive starters as free agents, and may move on from aging players like linebacker Khalil Mack and safety Tony Jefferson.
Steelers: Whether or not Aaron Rodgers returns, the Steelers should have a much different look in 2026. The big change is obviously at coach, with Mike McCarthy replacing Mike Tomlin after 19 years. The Steelers already cut tight end Jonnu Smith and badly need to invest in some receivers, with Calvin Austin, Scotty Miller and Marquez Valdes-Scantling hitting free agency. And with Tomlin gone, the Steelers may not be so welcoming to older defensive players like Jalen Ramsey, Kyle Dugger, and Cam Heyward.
Falcons: With coach Kevin Stefanski, OC Tommy Rees and QB coach Alex Van Pelt teaming up again, the Falcons are going to look like a hybrid between the 2020s Browns and 2024 Patriots, which probably isn’t the best marketing pitch. Michael Penix probably won’t be ready for the start of the season, and the Falcons are interested in acquiring Jacoby Brissett to fill in.
Kyle Pitts will be back on the franchise tag, but they already released receiver Darnell Mooney, running back Tyler Allgeier is a free agent, and they need to think about life beyond left tackle Jake Matthews, who is 34.
The Patriots could look at Cambridge native Isaiah Likely as a candidate to upgrade at tight end.
The Patriots could look at Cambridge native Isaiah Likely as a candidate to upgrade at tight end.Nick Wass/Associated Press
PATRIOTS TARGETS
Tight end a focus
The Patriots have already begun making moves for 2026, informing receiver Stefon Diggs that he is going to be released when the NFL league year begins this Wednesday at 4 p.m.
Here is a quick primer on some other moves they could make:
⋅ Two other veterans could be in trouble after the trade of center Garrett Bradbury to the Bears. One is defensive tackle Christian Barmore, who only has $2 million in guaranteed salary this year, and might get released before another $10 million becomes guaranteed on Friday. Barmore was disruptive in 2025, but the Patriots probably don’t need two highly-paid defensive tackles, and like Diggs, Barmore also has an ongoing legal issue.
The other is guard Mike Onwenu, who has a $16 million salary with none guaranteed. I wouldn’t be shocked if Onwenu is restructured with a pay cut.
⋅ The Patriots need at least one tight end, with Hunter Henry entering his 11th season, and Austin Hooper a free agent (and also entering his 11th season). Free agency has three young, productive tight ends: the Buccaneers’ Cade Otton (almost 27), Ravens’ Isaiah Likely (almost 26) and Titans’ Chigoziem Okonkwo (26), the latter of which was drafted by Mike Vrabel four years ago. The Patriots need to sign one of those three.
⋅ Other free agents who have connections to the Patriots’ staff, with an emphasis on the trenches:
Titans (Vrabel, others): Edge Arden Key, DT Sebastian Joseph-Day, DT James Lynch, CB Jalyn Armour-Davis.
Browns (Vrabel): G Wyatt Teller, C Ethan Pocic, LB Devin Bush, G Teven Jenkins, edge Cameron Thomas.
Giants (Vice President of Player Personnel Ryan Cowden): WR Wan’Dale Robinson, CB Cordale Flott, TE Daniel Bellinger, DT DJ Davidson.
Raiders (Josh McDaniels): G Dylan Parham, DT Thomas Booker (restricted free agent).
⋅ Other free agents that look like a fit: Ravens C Tyler Linderbaum; Jets G Alijah Vera-Tucker; Ravens G Daniel Faalele, Chargers G Zion Johnson, Commanders G Chris Paul; Texans G Ed Ingram; Eagles edge Jaelan Phillips; Bengals edge Joseph Ossai; Seahawks edge Boye Mafe; Chargers edge Odafe Oweh.
⋅ The Patriots will need a receiver now that Diggs is out, and the big names swirling are a trade for the Eagles’ A.J. Brown or signing the Colts’ Alec Pierce. Another who may be available is the Steelers’ DK Metcalf, who didn’t seem to mesh with his new team and has an easily tradeable contract. A value pickup could be Darnell Mooney, just released by the Falcons. I thought the Patriots should be players for the Bears’ DJ Moore, but the Bills got to him first, sending back a second-round pick (60th overall).
ETC.
Bizarre play births rule proposal
The 2025 season turned on a bizarre play in Week 16 in the Seahawks-Rams game when Sam Darnold’s pass on a 2-point conversion was batted down at the line of scrimmage. The ball was still live since it was a backward pass, and when the Seahawks’ Zach Charbonnet nonchalantly picked it up in the end zone, it counted as a successful conversion and the deciding points in a 38-37 win.
For March’s owners meetings, the Rams will submit a rule proposal to treat such a play like a fumble at the end of the half, where if anyone but the fumbler recovers the ball, it goes back to the spot of the fumble, not the spot of the recovery.
"Is this the craziest 2-point conversion EVER?"
The @Seahawks tie it up in a WILD way 😳
LARvsSEA on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/KwNtEIWVQ7
— NFL (@NFL) December 19, 2025
Coach Sean McVay and Rams owner Stan Kroenke will have to convince 23 other owners to vote yes.
“It was basically trying to write it in a way that allowed it to fall under the same parameters of not being able to advance a fumble favorably like the Holy Roller play that the [Raiders] had years ago,” said McVay, one of 11 members of the NFL’s competition committee. “It was a play that I think most people would agree, when you tip a perimeter screen pass and it goes forward past the line of scrimmage, that shouldn’t be necessarily rewarded for a team falling on it.”
Guerrero again
Mark Davis didn’t just bring Tom Brady into the Raiders’ ownership group — he said in late 2024 that he wants Brady to have a “huge voice” in “building the infrastructure of the organization … somebody that can oversee the whole picture.”
Instead, Brady has helped create a culture of dysfunction and mistrust, according to an article in The Athletic about Maxx Crosby before he was traded.
The cause is Alex Guerrero, Brady’s long-time body guru who has the official title of “wellness coordinator” for the Raiders. Per the article, Guerrero informs players of impending roster moves, warns coaches that their jobs could be at risk if they don’t follow his instructions, and is generally viewed as Brady’s snitch, since Brady isn’t often in the building. This has created trust issues between the players and front office, starting with Crosby, whose relationship with the Raiders soured when they benched him for the final two games of last season.
This is familiar territory for Patriots fans, who remember Guerrero driving a wedge between Brady and Bill Belichick to the point that Belichick removed Guerrero’s access to the sideline and team facility in 2017.
The trust issues in Las Vegas wouldn’t exist if Brady, also Fox’s No. 1 analyst, was devoted to the Raiders instead of treating it as a side job. With the Raiders going 3-14 in Brady’s first full season, Davis, who fires coaches almost annually, has to be wondering if bringing Brady into the fold was a smart idea.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry had candidates write personal essays before interviewing for his team's head coach opening.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry had candidates write personal essays before interviewing for his team's head coach opening.Justin Casterline/Getty
Interview questions
Football coaches do plenty of prep work before taking an interview for a head coaching vacancy. But the Browns made candidates take an extra step this year by requiring them to write personal essays before the initial interview.
Browns GM Andrew Berry defended the process, saying it helped the team get a feel for the candidates before engaging on Zoom.
“I think what maybe many people don’t realize is the first two weeks of the process, you only get three hours on a Zoom, and that’s very limited time for the topics that you have to cover,” Berry said. “We gave some of the candidates maybe five prompts that we would talk about during that virtual session. But it’s better to get them ahead of time than necessarily get it on the spot, and then you have to answer something that’s a little bit more deep and involved. So it was something that was really fruitful for us.”
Rooney Rule
By the letter of the Rooney Rule, the Bears believe they deserve a third-round compensatory draft pick because assistant GM Ian Cunningham, who is black, was hired as the GM of the Falcons. The NFL isn’t granting the pick, however, citing the Falcons’ executive structure that places president of football Matt Ryan above Cunningham as the final decision-maker.
Bears GM Ryan Poles, who is black, isn’t happy that he’s not getting a pick, but also doesn’t love the rule altogether, which came to be in 2020.
“I’ll be honest, I think it is a little strange,” Poles said recently. “At the end of the day you should want to develop your staff regardless of the color of their skin. I think that’s important. … So to be compensated for that is a little strange.”
Extra points
More than a few pundits scratched their heads over the Colts giving Daniel Jones the transition tag instead of the franchise tag, which saved the Colts $6 million but allows Jones to test the market. Jones is just the second quarterback in history to get the transition tag (Jeff George with the Falcons in 1996). But with Jones coming off an Achilles tear and expected to miss the entire spring, it’s highly unlikely any other team is going to offer him a significant contract. The Colts will work toward a long-term deal, and just set the starting point at $37 million instead of $43 million … The Rams traded the 29th pick to the Chiefs for Trent McDuffie, but still have the 13th pick they got from the Falcons in a draft-day trade last year … The snubs of Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft mean the Patriots don’t get the Hall of Fame Game that kicks off the preseason. The NFL instead chose the Panthers and Cardinals, to celebrate the inductions of Luke Kuechly and Larry Fitzgerald … The Giants will hold practice at The Greenbrier in West Virginia because the World Cup will be overtaking their home right next to MetLife Stadium … The LaFleur Brothers will be holding a joint practice in August, with Mike’s Cardinals visiting Matt’s Packers … Dolphins owner Stephen Ross recently sold 1 percent of his sports empire for a $12.5 billion valuation, but it also includes Hard Rock Stadium, the Miami F1 race and the Miami Open tennis tournament … Interesting to see James Ferentz, a 10-year backup offensive lineman and longtime Patriot, be named tight ends coach for the Texans. That can often be a jumping point to offensive coordinator … This year’s draft has another potential first-round pick with a short-arm problem – Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain, who had 20.5 sacks in three seasons, but whose arms measured just 30⅞ inches at the Combine, when most pass rushers are at least 32 inches. “As long as I just talk the talk and walk the walk, play with technique, nobody actually cares about it,” Bain said.
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Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com.