The Raiders really tried to upgrade their linebacker corps this offseason. Not only did they sign veterans Cory Littleton and Nick Kwiatkoski, but they also traded for Raekwon McMillan and drafted Tanner Muse.
Unfortunately, only the Kwiatkoski signing has worked out so far for the Raiders. In fact, the Littleton signing is turning out to look worse and worse by the week.
In a recent article by Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report, he named the worst decision that each team made during the 2020 offseason. For the Raiders, that was none other than signing Littleton to a massive contract. Here is a snippet of his thoughts on the move below:
“The Las Vegas Raiders already have good reason to regret handing the 27-year-old a three-year, $35.3 million contract in the 2020 offseason.
Littleton’s always been decent in coverage, but he leads the NFL with 15 missed tackles, which is unfortunate considering that the Raiders are on the hook to give him $13.8 million in each of the next two years (with a potential $6.1 million out after the 2021 campaign).”
There is still hope for Littleton as he is new to this scheme and has had to overcome a lot this season. He has still been solid in coverage, but needs to improve everywhere else to be worth what the Raiders paid him this offseason.
Look for the Raiders to continue to rotate their linebackers over the next five games as they search for any possible solution in the middle of the defense. Needless to say, the Raiders need to see more from Littleton in order to justify his contract.
