4 High-Priced Raiders Veterans Who Cost Las Vegas vs. Bills

HENDERSON, Nev.—The Las Vegas Raiders (3-3) have overachieved this season, a testament to both their coaches and players.

But after their second major upset bid of the season fell yesterday, the reasons for the loss have become concerning. I already detailed the winners and losers, but this article comes after watching the film.

Reality vs. Fiction

It is no secret, and we have reported, that 2026 was a Raiders rebuild. In a rebuild where some positions are anemic (WR1), others are thin (DL), and still others are young (DB), you expect those glaring weaknesses to show, and you can reasonably chalk them up to the rebuilding learning curve.

But what stood out was not the non-existent position players like WR1, thin spots like the DL, or even young positions like the DB.

What ultimately cost the Silver and Black on Sunday was errors by veterans.

Guys making the money that John Spytek and Klint Kubiak expect and fairly demand to perform to a standard that wasn’t met. I asked Klint Kubiak today about those veteran mistakes.

"Everybody makes mistakes, coaches and players, veterans and rookies, and so, it's really identifying who are your guys that you can count on. That's a body of work. The more accountable players that we can have, that we learn to trust, those are the guys that get more playing time and get more opportunities. So, that's coaching too. The more you learn about your coaching staff and yourself, you put different guys in different leadership roles."

Important Distinctions

When discussing athletes' play, it's imperative to clearly define the parameters of your discussion.

For example, Kirk Cousins had one truly bad play that resulted in an interception. But, getting battered and without a WR1, there is no clear-minded person who would say they were in a position to win that game without him.

Cousins’ one mistake wouldn’t place him anywhere near this list of underachievers, nor should it. Perhaps no player more than Cousins should be credited with being in contention for the upset.

Cousins is leading the NFL in touchdown passes (14) and is fifth in passing yards (1,582); he is clearly an integral reason for the Raiders' success.

Every player, whether it is Kirk Cousins or even the best to play the game, Tom Brady, has one or two plays in every game where they were beaten. This is the NFL, and the gentlemen on the other side are paid millions of dollars as well.

The reality, however, is that proven, well-paid veterans can get grace and understanding for an occasional mistake, but poor play in general tells a different story.

C Tyler Linderbaum

This generational talent was paid a three-year, $81 million deal this past offseason. Hot-take artists will attack Linderbaum and my use of the term “Generational Talent,” but it is accurate, and it reflects how he is viewed around the league.

His contract made him the highest-paid IOL in NFL history and reset the market. The Raiders were praised for signing him. Including by me.

I am an offensive line junkie, and I love the way he plays, and I have the utmost personal respect for him as a man. He set the standard very high for himself, and he deserves every bit of the praise.

One of the many reasons I respect and personally like Linderbaum is that he isn’t going to sugarcoat anything.

He was blunt in assessing his performance: “I just gotta play better for the team. They brought me here to be a great run blocker, and a great pass protector. I just feel like I let a lot of my teammates down today.”

I have zero concerns about Linderbaum bouncing back; he will, but his play hurt this team’s upset bid on Sunday.

WR Jalen 'Speedy' Nailor

This offseason, the Silver and Black signed him to a three-year, $35 million deal. Through six games, he has six catches for 61 yards and no touchdowns.

On a team with no WR1 and given how defenses are scheming, he has to get off the ball; his skill set was built for this offense, and the Raiders rewarded him.

Nailor can’t be an afterthought as the Raiders' highest-paid WR, and making more than Brock Bowers, Nailor’s numbers aren't adding up.

I consider Nailor a friend, and I believe in him. The question has nothing to do with character. It is about production, and Nailor hasn’t produced.

Football games come down to the inches, and Nailor could have provided them yesterday.

DE Malcolm Koonce

The Raiders signed him in March to a one-year $11 million deal. In his previous five seasons with the Raiders, he spent half a season demonstrating his elite talent. Outside of that, he has done some nice things at times, but GM John Spytek paid him a lot of money for this season, and despite his one tackle against the Bills, he was non-existent.

In fact, on one highlight play by Josh Allen, Koonce had him in what could have been a massive contributor to the Raiders' win, and he failed. Is Josh Allen great? Of course, but it was an easy play, and Koonce failed.

Suppose a young player made that mistake, fine. If he had a litany of great plays made in the game and that was the one failure, again, fine. But to be essentially non-existent, making the money this organization entrusted to him, he let his team down. Like Linderbaum and Nailor, his play cost this team dearly.

A sixth-year player making what he is making on a one-year prove-it deal was not good.

None of this is personal. Koonce is a terrific young player and an exceptional young man. But this isn’t about Sunday school teachers; it is about football players. Proven veterans, paid accordingly, who failed on Sunday.

Special Teams: Segun Olubi

Listed as a LB, we have written in great detail that he isn’t here to play that position; he is a special teams weapon. The Raiders signed him to a one-year deal valued at nearly $1.2 million per year—a generous deal for a special-teams-only player.

That isn’t a lot when you look at the contracts of others on this list, but when you look at how he plays a handful of plays on special teams, and over six games has three solo tackles and three monster penalties, the roster spot saved for someone only on special teams has to be questioned.

The production he is offering could easily be matched by a young, unproven player who could contribute in many ways. He has three critical penalties and three tackles.

It is rare to have a roster spot saved for an all-special-teams player with production issues like his.

Like the others, he's a wonderful young man and a hard worker. It isn’t personal, but his two penalties on Sunday were brutal in a game of inches where the team needed, if at best, a break and, at worst, not to be shot in the foot by their own guy.

Olubi is better than he has played. I believe the Raiders think that, and I am sure he does too. But free-agent contracts like his tell the story, and the problem is that what is inside the book isn’t living up to expectations.

From Here

All four of these young men are fierce competitors. All four know they are better than what they put on the field. All four are free-agent, paid players who underperformed against the Bills, and all four have to improve their play for the Raiders to rebound and upset the Rams.

Kubiak said it best today when I asked him about veteran mistakes: "I don't expect our guys to be perfect. It's a full-speed, four-quarter game with bodies flying everywhere. But it's really the guys that are accountable, especially in the toughest moments. Those are the guys that you really rely heavily on."

Knowing all four, I doubt any of them will be on this list next week.

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