Is there a young linebacker on the Raiders’ roster flying under the radar going into the 2025 season?
Amari Gainer made a name for himself in preseason a year ago, and there has been a little buzz around the 24-year-old in the last few months.
More recently, Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter was asked on his podcast if there was a “secret” player on the roster to keep an eye on and Gainer was the player he mentioned.
“I got a young pup that I really think has a shot to become a dog and that is Amari Gainer,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast.
“Carl Banks, you may remember from the New York [Giants],” Hondo continued. “I think he’s got a lot of Carl Banks in him. Now, he wasn’t Carl Banks coming out of college, where Carl was, but he’s got some things and I think this kid has an opportunity to be special… I really like Amari Gainer, and I know that Patrick Graham was intrigued by him. I’m intrigued by him, and I think that young man has a shot to be special.”
Obviously, there is a new coaching staff and personnel department in Las Vegas, but former Raiders’ head coach Antonio Pierce was so impressed by Gainer in the preseason a year ago that he kept him on the 53-man roster
“He’s put himself in position, not just at linebacker, but on special teams, to be one of the core guys for us,” Pierce said last year. “There’s still some development there at the linebacker position that will take place over the course of the season, but he gives us a lot of flexibility because of what he’s able to do both on the line of scrimmage, off the ball linebacker and special teams.”
As it turned out, Gainer was only on the field for 12 defensive plays last year – mostly because Robert Spillane didn’t share many snaps in 2024.
But the 6-3, 236-pound linebacker might be someone to keep an eye on this year. A video surfaced a little while back showing one of Gainer’s offseason workouts and he looks like a player that’s working hard to see the field more in 2025.
x: @raidersbeat
You’d think Hondo covered a perennial Super Bowl contender the way he talks about this team, its players, and the decisions the organization makes…. I mean Carl Banks? I’d love to know what player Hondo thinks is going to disappoint, or what organizational decision is likely to fail.
There must be fans who appreciate the constant Kool-Aid, but for all the optimism and rah-rah, where are the results on the field?
Hondo is an imbecile. It’s like watching The View to gain political knowledge.
Your mother is an imbecile 🤨
Not Cool”
I like Hondo as a man, but his analyses tend to be overly optimistic much of the time.. It would be totally out of character for him to label a player as “likely to disappoint”or label an organizational move as “likely to fail.” Much of RN is younger and probably has no idea who Carl Banks is anyway.. I’d be happy if Gainer could be an upgrade over Deablo myself.. IMO Jailin Walker could be this years Gainer as a UDFA on the 53.. Likely needs to add weight and strength to play on D but could be a ST terror for a year or 2 until he develops more. I had never even heard of Zach Baun until a year ago.. Philly gambled on him and found a gem who only played ST for 4 years in NOLA..
Gaining 15-20 lbs of muscle would help.
I love my boys but until they prove it on the field they will all be suspect!! I remember back in the day you didn’t have to worry about them being any good because they always were. But since the late 80’s early 90’s was really the last really good Raiders teams. Had a few flashes with Gannon teams but that was it. Carr gave us a bit of hope but he just couldn’t get us over the hump. He had a big heart but just was not the guy. I don’t think Geno Smith is the answer so we will have to wait a while longer to get our franchise guy..