One huge mystery this season for the Raiders was why they were not playing their young players, especially the ones that they drafted early on in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The Raiders have been out of contention for a long time now, and it was not until this past Sunday that we saw one of the Raiders’ 2025 3rd round picks make his start on the offensive line. And mind you, this has been an offensive line that has struggled all season in both the run game and the passing game.
In Week 13, rookie offensive lineman Caleb Rogers got his first career start in the National Football League. It was one that many people around the league and Raider Nation have been waiting for. It had been weeks since the Raiders could have made this move, especially after starting offensive line Jackson Powers-Johnson went down.
Aug 23, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Las Vegas Raiders guard Caleb Rogers (76) against the Arizona Cardinals during a preseason NFL game at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Raiders Rookie Played Well in First Start
This is a good move for the Raiders because at where they are in the season, it is time to see what you have with your youth and if you are going to be built with them. The Raiders could be in a rebuild this offseason, and the first area you start that at is on the offensive line. That is the main problem the Raiders have to figure out on the offensive side of the ball. Rogers could be part of that future starting unit; that is what the Raiders will be taking a good look at the rest of the season.
On Sunday, Rogers was the highest-rated Raiders offensive lineman with a grade of 67.1 against the Los Angeles Chargers, according to Pro Football Focus.
Aug 23, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Las Vegas Raiders guard Caleb Rogers (76) against the Arizona Cardinals during a preseason NFL game at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
“Yeah, I think I mentioned last night that during the competition of the week and then finding out that we weren’t able to play Jordan [Meredith], I mean, that was all part of the factor,” said Raiders head coach Pete Carroll about the competition at guard. “Those guys kind of balanced it out during the week. And so, we let them fight for their job. And so, it’s a good battle going on, and we’ll continue that this week.”
“We’re getting hit way too much, and Geno [Smith] had threw a pretty good game, as far as the throwing part of it, but we’re getting hit too much, and we’re having trouble keeping people from getting in the backfield, particularly in the drop back game. And so, we have to shore that up. We did some things to help us in protection, but it didn’t help us enough. So, we just got to get better.”
Las Vegas Raiders OL Caleb Rogers | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI
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