It is Super Bowl week and we’re looking at some connections to the Las Vegas Raiders.
This own is a tale of what could have been.
Christian Elliss will be lining up at linebacker for the Patriots, but for a short
period of time last offseason, it appeared Elliss was headed to the Raiders.
Las Vegas general manager used the rare restricted free-agency approached and signed Elliss to an offer sheet last year. Because he was given the low tender, the Raiders wouldn’t have owe New England any draft-pick compensation and they would not match. There was wide media speculation that the Patriots wouldn’t match the Raiders’ offer.
In the end, though, New England opted to match the deal the Raiders planned with Elliss. It was a two-year, $13.5 million pact with $7.775 guaranteed money. It was a reminder to the rest of NFL why many teams don’t use restricted free agency because teams don’t want to do deals for other teams.
But it was worth the shot for the Raiders, who needed linebackers last offseason and still do.
Elliss, a fifth-year pro, stated a career-high 13 games in 2025 and had a career-high 94 tackles in a season that once thought would be spent in Las Vegas but ends in the Super Bowl.
