josh mcdaniels
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Though Josh McDaniels isn’t the head coach for the New England Patriots, he has had some influence over the roster. Since he rejoined the team, the Patriots have signed several former Las Vegas Raiders players from his tenure as head coach.
The latest is an offensive lineman. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Patriots have signed Greg Van Roten to a contract.
Van Roten was with the Raiders in 2023, which was the season McDaniels got fired after eight games. The veteran started all 17 games that season, and must’ve impressed McDaniels.
Van Roten is 36 and has been in the NFL since 2012, so he’s about as experienced as they come. Perhaps his best trait is his durability. Even at his age, he has only missed one game since the 2020 season. It remains to be seen if he’ll compete for a starting spot. He does have some familiarity with McDaniels’ system, which will help him.
The Patriots were in the Super Bowl last season, but had issues on the offensive line. A veteran like Van Roten could be an asset for them, even if he starts the season in a backup role.
Raiders OL Has Improved
The Raiders arguably had the worst offensive line in the NFL last season. That poor play derailed any chance the offense had of having a productive season.
The Raiders decided to address the poor offensive line play by signing Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum to a record contract. That may pay off in a big way, as Pro Football Focus rated the Raiders’ offensive line as the 18th-best in the NFL.
“The Raiders made Tyler Linderbaum by far the highest-paid center in football, and he should have a huge impact on their ability to run the football,” Gordon McGuinness wrote. “The former first-round draft pick has earned PFF pass-blocking grades below 65.0 in each of the past two seasons but PFF run-blocking grades above 80.0 in three of his four seasons in the NFL. Left tackle Kolton Miller looked set for a career year before a season-ending injury after just four games. Look for this to be an ascending group in 2026 and one with serious potential to move up these rankings throughout the season.”
18th is about average, but that’d be a major improvement for the Raiders.
Kolton Miller Talks Upcoming Joint Practice
The Raiders offensive line is going to get a good test soon, as they are heading to Houston to do a joint practice with the Texans. The Texans might have the best defensive line in the NFL. This will be very good practice for the offensive line.
Left tackle Kolton Miller is excited for the challenge, but is hoping there aren’t any major fights.
“You have to defend yourself, but you have to be smart,” Miller told Raiders.com.
“Throwing punches is not smart. … You can break a hand, you don’t want any of that. You want to get as much work out of the day because there’s not a lot of time left [before the regular season starts]. All these days are very important for progression, for the team, and you don’t want to ruin that opportunity for everybody. So just play smart, get better, work on your technique and get the most out of it.”