The Kansas City Chiefs have been at the top of the AFC West for close to a decade. Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Raiders have had just two winning seasons during that span. It’s been fun for Chiefs fans to continue to watch the Raiders sputter out of control, and while, under minority owner Tom Brady’s guidance, the team has made some solid moves this offseason, there’s a move they didn’t make that could loom large.

Robert Spillane played in Vegas over the past two seasons and tallied over 100 tackles each year, yet the team didn’t re-sign him. Spillane is off to New England to play for Mike Vrabel’s Patriots, while the Raiders have a less-than-ideal situation at linebacker.

Former Bucs first-rounder Devin White and Elandon Roberts are set to be Las Vegas’ starting linebackers, and that’s… not great (for them, at least—Chiefs fans will be happy to hear it). White missed half of the 2024 season with the Texans, and when he was on the field, he wasn’t very good. As for Roberts, he’s a much better player but is 31 years old.

Raiders not re-signing Robert Spillane could end up being a big deal

It’s likely that people aren’t discussing this much because, well, it’s the Raiders. The Chiefs are going to be the favorites to win the AFC West, but the Chargers and Broncos showed they were improving a season ago, even making it to the playoffs. The Raiders will be a popular pick to finish last in the division, so not re-signing a linebacker with triple-digit tackles probably won’t be a hot topic of conversation.

That being said, this is good for Chiefs fans to remember because it means the Raiders’ linebacker room is weakened. When the two teams square off twice during the 2025 regular season, the hope is that the Chiefs’ offense can take advantage of this Raiders’ flaw.