Kendal Vickers, Jason Witten
Two new players from Tennessee football join the Raiders just as the move from Oakland to Las Vegas. One involves a veteran who is a future Hall-of-Famer, and the other is an extremely inspiring story with a surprise signing. However, that surprise puts this franchise only on the list because it has multiple players, as we can’t measure the contribution of one just yet.
The most standout signing is clearly Jason Witten. After 16 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, the superstar tight end is now heading to Vegas. He’s likely going to be a veteran who is looked at more as a vocal leader to help this franchise get over the hump. However, Witten is still a reliable target, and he’s a great blocker, so he’ll be a safety blanket for Derek Carr or Marcus Mariota.
Kendal Vickers, meanwhile, last played for the Vols in 2017. After that disastrous 4-8 season, he went undrafted and bounced around in 2018 with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans before playing in the Canadian Football League in 2019. Now, though, he’s back in the pros, and he’s always been a career overachiever given his size. He may overachieve again here.
Jon Gruden definitely will work with both players to get them involved, particularly Witten, but a guy like him would definitely take a hard look at Vickers given the way he landed with the Raiders. Both players could end up making an impact. If they do, then Las Vegas could move up this list.