They’re not used to this, but the Las Vegas Raiders had the biggest steal of free agency in the first week, and no one is talking about it. Now, they’re not used to it because they haven’t made good decisions in a while. But, it was the perfect move.
This move resembles one they made a few years ago — the signing of Robert Spillane, who also was leaving the Pittsburgh Steelers on a cheap deal, only to be rewarded bug time after two years. Roberts was coveted by the Steelers and their fan base. Yet, the Raiders were able to get him for one year, $3 million, which is about as cheap as you will get for a player like Roberts. And, he’s a great player.
The New England Patriots drafted Roberts in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, so he certainly has some experience, and he has experience around a championship-winning franchise.
Roberts spent four years with the Patriots from 2016 to 2019, winning two Super Bowls (LI and LIII). He played 60 games, starting 30 of them. In 2019, he even scored a touchdown as a fullback on a pass from Tom Brady. He was known for stopping the run and making hard hits.
After the Patriots, Roberts joined the Miami Dolphins in 2020 for three years. His best season was 2022, with 104 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and 10 tackles for loss in 17 starts. Roberts had an interception returned for a touchdown against the Raiders in 2021 on Derek Carr. In 2023, he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers and led them with 101 tackles in 16 games.
Now in his 10th season with the Raiders in 2025, Roberts has played 141 games, started 105, and has 604 tackles, 14.5 sacks, and 52 tackles for loss.
Last year alone he was the third-best run defender of all linebackers by Pro Football Focus grades, with a 90. In the run game, the tape doesn’t lie either, he is a rocket that’s ready to be set off anytime the ball is snapped on a run play. He always ended up wherever the ball was. And in coverage, he wasn’t too bad, but only played 164 coverage snaps last year, so it’s hard to see based on the sample size, whereas, Patrick Queen on his team, played over 500 snaps in coverage.
When he did play on coverage, he was targeted just eight times and allowed only five catches for 64 yards. So, he’s not bad there.
To me, this is one of the best steals of the summer, and only time will tell if that’s a true statement or not.