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Former Michigan LB Cameron McGrone.

It’s the slow part of the offseason for the Las Vegas Raiders, but they’ve made some more roster moves before OTAs kick off. The team did a lot to upgrade their linebacker room by signing Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean in free agency.

However, the depth behind them is a bit concerning. The Raiders don’t have a lot of experience in their linebacker room. Fortunately, they were able to sign a veteran.

The Raiders announced that they’ve struck a deal to bring in linebacker Cameron McGrone. He first came into the NFL as a fifth-round pick of the New England Patriots.

He never actually played a game for the team before moving on to the Indianapolis Colts, where he lasted a little over three seasons. McGrone doesn’t have much experience taking defensive snaps. He has mostly been a special teams contributor.

He played his college ball at Michigan and was a key contributor to the team. In 2019, he had 9.0 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. He has dealt with injuries throughout his career, which has hurt his ability to earn a role on the defense. With the Raiders, there will be opportunities to play if he can prove that he can stay healthy.

Raiders May Still Want Another LB

Though McGrone has been in the NFL for several seasons, he likely doesn’t fully alleviate the need for more depth at linebacker. He has just 51 defensive snaps in his career. He’s not someone the Raiders can fully trust to take defensive snaps during the regular season.

Depth wouldn’t be as big a concern if Walker and Dean didn’t have a tendency to miss games due to injury. If either of those guys misses time, the Raiders are going to be in trouble. Cody Lindenberg and Tommy Eichenberg are young players who might finally be ready to get a chance to play, but neither has taken many snaps on defense.

The Raiders may still want to add an experienced linebacker to the group.

Raiders Defense Has Chance to Be Greatly Improved

Despite the Raiders being the worst team in the NFL last season, the defense actually wasn’t that bad. They were 14th in the NFL in yards allowed. They did give up a lot of points, but a lot of that has to do with the offense having 23 giveaways.

The Raiders’ defense could actually take a big leap this year. They will be better at linebacker and in the secondary. Second-round pick Treydan Stukes should be a Week 1 starter, fourth-round pick cornerback Jermod McCoy could start if he’s healthy and the team traded for slot cornerback Taron Johnson.

Walker and Dean are a huge upgrade at linebacker over the trio of Devin White, Elandon Roberts and Jamal Adams from last season. Kwity Paye should help Maxx Crosby on the defensive line. Defensive tackle is still a concern, but the Raiders have some young players at the position who could be ready to make an impact. There’s some talent on the Raiders’ defense, and if new defensive coordinator Rob Leonard is up to the task, the defense could be a top-15 unit in 2026.