4 reasons why the Raiders are now the most dangerous threat to the Lions keeping Ben Johnson
There's been some time to really think about this one over the weekend. Really let it marinate and by the time Sunday ended, it just made so much sense that the Las Vegas Raiders are a real threat to the Detroit Lions' chances of keeping Ben Johnson. I fully understand the early reservation you might […]
There's been some time to really think about this one over the weekend. Really let it marinate and by the time Sunday ended, it just made so much sense that the Las Vegas Raiders are a real threat to the Detroit Lions' chances of keeping Ben Johnson.
I fully understand the early reservation you might have. I mean look at Mark Davis' haircut right? This team hasn't made a good decision in a long time. Why would they start now? They'll probably just make the odd choice and hire Pete Carroll or something like that.
In the past, I would have laughed at the Raiders along with you. Now it doesn't feel like a laughing matter anymore. The Raiders are a real threat here. The biggest of them all. Let's talk about four reasons why.
Tom Brady
If you're worried about the proximity that Brady will have to Johnson on Saturday night, that's not what this is about. Do not worry about Brady tampering with Johnson.
Where Brady comes in is how involved he's going to be in making the Raiders the team they want to be. Part of that is realizing how smart Brady is and how reasonable he is as well.
One of the big things Johnson reportedly wants from a team is the acknowledgment of what went wrong and their plan to fix it. Brady is the reason why Davis would acknowledge what went wrong and he himself might be part of the plan to fix it already.
That's a game changer because, in a world where a lot of these owners can be narcissistic, Brady can point Davis in the right direction and have him at least be the one owner who lies about it.
Organizational alignment
There are rumors out there that Johnson wants his own GM on whatever team he goes to. We don't really know if there's any truth to that because rumors tend to be false in the NFL.
If that were true, it could give Johnson the chance to bring his own guy over to the Raiders and he and that guy could build the team in his image and have full carte blanche to do it.
Just spit balling here, but if Johnson wanted the Belichick arrangement where he gets to be the head coach and the GM too, the Raiders could also do that. However that almost always never works out and teams regret it.
Cap Space
The Raiders have a lot of it. They are currently projected to have the second most cap space in the league this offseason. Only the Patriots had more, but they're off the market now after hiring Mike Vrabel. After 2025 they're projected to have the most cap space in the NFL in 2026.
That is going to make a huge difference for a team that's going to be looking to build an offense for Johnson. If I were them, I'd spend cheaply on a quarterback like Zach Wilson and build around him, and make him Johnson's new Jared Goff. Assuming Goff's resurrection is all Johnson's doing as many have suggested.
High Draft picks
While the Raiders don't have the top pick in this draft and they likely won't get a shot at any of the quarterbacks, they could still get Arizona receiver Tetairoa McMillan with the sixth pick and pair him with Jakobi Myers, Brock Bowers, and Michael Mayer. What a group of pass catchers that would be. Super dangerous. Get a running back and buy a strong offensive line and Johnson is in heaven.
We'll see what happens with Johnson when the Lions season is in the books. Personally, I still feel he comes back to Detroit for one more year, but the Raiders have a lot of what he is looking for and can give him whatever else he wants. They're dangerous.