Lost in the “return” of Maxx Crosby in March was the fact that the Raiders had already agreed to a deal with Crosby’s replacement.
Kwity Paye was a first-round pick by the Indianapolis Colts in 2021 and prior to the Baltimore Ravens pivoting on their plans to trade for Crosby, the Raiders and Paye had reached a verbal agreement on a three-year, $48 million deal.
The decision makers in Las Vegas chose to honor the deal with Paye, and Raider Nation Radio host Q Myers believes Paye’s presence in Las Vegas could impact another pass rusher on the roster.
“To the Raiders’ credit, they still honored Kwity Paye’s contract that they had negotiated with him. They said, ‘We’re going to bring him in.’ [Paye] is a guy that’s kind of flying under the radar, which I think is a good thing. He’s one of those dudes that’s going to press some other guys for playing time,” Myers said on the Locked on Raiders Squad Show podcast.
“I really think that once we get to training camp, we’re going to see a big healthy competition when it comes to Malcolm Koonce and whoever else is out there. I think Malcolm Koonce is going to have to do a lot in training camp to prove his worth and to prove that he really does belong on this team,” Myers continued.
“He’s got to prove it. He’s got to come and hit the ground running early. He hit the ground and he started to produce late in the season last year. He, in my opinion, has got to come out of training camp looking really good and showing that he could be that guy that he was at the end of the 2023 season.”
The good news, though, is that it sounds like Koonce is back to full strength after tearing his ACL at the start of the 2024 season.
“The good thing for Malcolm [is] he’s out there without a knee brace on. He’s not sleeved up or anything. So clearly, he’s healthy in his mind,” Myers said. “He’s ready to go. Now he’s got to go prove it on the grass. They brought him back on a one-year deal for a reason. You got to go out there and prove it.”
x: @raidersbeat