The Raiders are coming off one their worst offensive line performances in decades, and one of the biggest challenges for Klint Kubiak’s staff is going to be sorting out and improving the offensive line play in 2026.
Kolton Miller and Tyler Linderbaum are locked into the starting lineup, but there still questions at both guard spots and right tackle.
Unlike other years, the Raiders seem to have viable options at guard and right tackle, and former Raider great Lincoln Kennedy named two players he would like to see get real opportunities in August.
“As far as rookies or second year players… I’m expecting a lot of Caleb Rogers. I’m expecting to find a place for Charles Grant. I think he can play in this league. I just need to see it and the only way that we get to see it is live reps,” Kennedy said on the Locked on Raiders Squad Show podcast.
“That’s where we go back to the conversation we had before the break about preseason. Do you play these guys all preseason? I would. What are you saving them for? You got to see if they can play. Put them out there in a game situation. See how they handle things. One of the biggest ones that I’m looking for is Caleb Rogers. I’m hoping… expecting him to be out there and possibly challenge for a starting spot.”
After last year, it’s hard to know what the Raiders can expect from players like Rogers and Grant, but both did play well at times as rookies.
The offensive coaching staff was not a good fit last year and based on what an NFL person told Vinny Bonsginore during the season; it was one of the worst O-line coaching performances in team history.
Bonsignore didn’t identify the person who made the comment, but it sounds like it was someone in the Raiders’ building.
“I’m going to throw this at you, talking to some people in the Raider organization as they assessed, actually it was during the season, late in the season. I was told that the coaching along the offensive line last year, and this is by somebody that’s been around the NFL for a long time, it was the worst he’s ever seen,” Bonsignore said on Raider Nation Radio’s Morning Tailgate.
Raiders have an upgrade in new offensive line coach
At the mid-point in the season, Kennedy talked about Pete Carroll’s decision to hire and not fire his son, who was the Raiders’ offensive coordinator in 2025.
“He’s the coach’s son. I mean, look, I’m not one who wants to mix business with family. Okay. Trust me… I don’t do that. But at the same point, at this position, something’s got to happen,” Kennedy said on the Locked on Raiders Squad Show podcast in November.
“I’m not that fire guy. I’ve never been that… because look, I don’t want to get into coaching because I don’t want to live with my bags packed, but also because of reasons like this. The fact that the players are out there not doing well, sometimes they’re in the wrong position. That does have something to do with coaching. At the same point, it also has to do with execution.”
If nothing else, the Raiders now have an offensive coordinator in Rick Dennison who is one of the most respected offensive coaches in the NFL and has familiarity with Kubiak’s system – something that could not be said a year ago about last year’s offensive line coach and coordinator.
And on a related note… maybe no one in the building figures to benefit more from Kubiak and Dennison than second year running back Ashton Jeanty.
x: @raidersbeat
I’ve said it a million times and I’ll say it again, NOTHING ( no position group in football ) is MORE IMPORTANT than THE OFFENSIVE LINE!!! Lincoln Kennedy has it right!!! What made the Raiders great, and ANY team successful, is the play of their offensive line. This fact IS NO mystery to ANYONE who knows ANYTHING about football. Ask Joe Burrow, who in my opinion is the best quarterback in pro football, from a thrower’s perspective. Also, from my perspective, the Raiders should have, and still should, trade for Joshua Dobbs who is younger, more athletic and cheaper than Kirk Cousins and a decided upgrade over leadfooted Adian O’Connell. Oh well, another missed opportunity by the Raiders, what’s new? While ANY improvement in the offensive line play will be an upgrade over last year’s edition, the worst in the NFL last year, the addition of a mobile quarterback, over a stationary one, would certainly help this group out while they try to establish themselves.
And, for those of you who want Mendoza to start immediately I say, HIS TIME WILL COME!!! The NFL IS NOT college football and he needs time to acclimate to the speed of the game. If I haven’t thus far been clear let me reiterate, WEAK OFFENSIVE LINE PLAY, MINIMAL WINS!!! Further, the Raiders would be well served to hire Phillip Rivers, who has seen EVERYTHING defenses can throw at a quarterback, to help mentor not only Mendoza but also Kirk Cousins. The reason I’m sure that NONE of these recommendations will come to fruition is because Raiders management routinely shun pragmatism in favor of unbridled optimism. Long ago, someone coined the phrase, “Experience is the best teacher.” Apparently, current Raiders management has yet to learn this lesson. So, the debacle, that is the Las Vegas Raiders continues until they do. As a Raiders fan since 1968, at this point, I’m just hoping for a six win season, that would be double last years total.