Malcolm Koonce was one of the best pass rushers in the NFL in the second half of the 2023 season, and if that career trend continues in 2024, his days of being a relative unknown in the league will soon come to an end.
For the Raiders, that would be good news, but they also know it won’t be simple to keep Koonce around beyond this year if his career takes off.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler talked about Koonce’s contract this week and he described the Raiders 26 year-old pass rusher as a player that is moving toward a big pay day in the offseason.
“Malcolm Koonce could be one of those sneaky free agents who makes more money than people expect,” Fowler reported in an ESPN Insider piece this week. “The Raiders have big plans for him this season but know he will be hard to keep, considering the money tied to Maxx Crosby and Christian Wilkins up front. Koonce had eight sacks for Las Vegas last season.”
Last month, The Athletic’s Vic Tafur talked about Koonce’s contract, and he believes Koonce will be at the top of the Raiders’ list of players to re-sign.
“Koonce seems to be the obvious first player in line, as pass rusher is a premium position and the staff seems pretty convinced he is only scratching the surface,” Tafur said.
Based on recent comments from defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, Tafur is correct that the coaching staff is very high on Koonce.
In an appearance less than two weeks ago on the The Rush with Maxx Crosby, Graham was asked to name a player that he thinks will make a huge stride this year.
“I don’t want to put anybody on the spot, but I just love what Malcolm [Koonce] has been able to do,” Graham said.
“In terms of what he was able to do last year and the way he’s working right now. I think he could care less what happened last year. He’s just like Maxx, you have to do every week, every year, it’s a new season,” Graham continued. “The way he’s been working, the maturity in terms of him growing into himself as an NFL player and knowing who he is and being able to communicate that and execute it. It should be fun to watch. I’m not going to predict this and that. I just know this. Show me you’re doing the work. We’ll see what the results are. Let’s rock. He’s putting in that work.”
x: @raidersbeat
It will be very interesting to see if Koonce has another great year or last season a fluke. I sure hope he builds off last season, and the Raiders lock him up long term.