The 2017 season was the Oakland Raiders' 48th in the National Football League (NFL), their 58th overall, their 23rd since their return to Oakland, and the third and final season under head coach Jack Del Rio. It was the first season for the team since the franchise announced its impending relocation to Las Vegas.
The Raiders began the season on September 10 at the Tennessee Titans and finished the season December 31 at the Los Angeles Chargers. The Raiders, as they did in 2016, played one home game in Mexico City, this time against the New England Patriots. Although the league approved the Raiders' eventual relocation to Las Vegas on March 27, 2017, the team still maintained its lease at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum and intended to use the stadium for at least the 2017 and 2018 seasons and the 2019 season.
After a 12–4 record the prior season that saw the Raiders return to the playoffs for the first time since 2002, the Raiders finished the season 6–10, having the biggest drop in number of wins since 2003. They finished in third place in the AFC West and failed to qualify for the playoffs. The season also marked a return to a double-digit loss record for the first time since 2014.
The offense struggled under first year offensive coordinator Todd Downing, ranking 17th (tied with Denver) in yardage rankings, 25th in rushing yards, and 23rd in points. The defense also struggled under Ken Norton Jr., having no interceptions under Norton. Norton was fired on November 21, 2017. However, the defense showed some improvement under Norton's replacement, John Pagano.
The Raiders fired head coach Jack Del Rio on December 31, 2017, following the final game of the season and a four-game losing streak.
This season is notable for former Seattle Seahawks running back and Oakland native Marshawn Lynch coming out of retirement to play for the Raiders before their move to Las Vegas.
Offseason
Free agent signings Position Player Age 2016 Team Contract TE Jared Cook 30 Green Bay Packers 2 years, $10.6 million WR Cordarrelle Patterson 26 Minnesota Vikings 2 years, $8.5 million OT Marshall Newhouse 28 New York Giants 2 years, $3.5 million LS Jon Condo 35 Oakland Raiders 1 year, $1 million OLB Jelani Jenkins 25 Miami Dolphins 1 year, $1 million QB EJ Manuel 27 Buffalo Bills 1 year, $800,000DEIK Enemkpali26Buffalo Bills1 yearLBRufus Johnson28Washington Redskins1 year
Losses Position Player Age 2017 Team RB Latavius Murray 27 Minnesota Vikings LB Malcolm Smith 27 San Francisco 49ers DT Stacy McGee 27 Washington Redskins OT Menelik Watson 28 Denver Broncos WR Andre Holmes 28 Buffalo Bills SS Brynden Trawick 27 Tennessee Titans CB D.J. Hayden 26 Detroit Lions FS Nate Allen 27 Miami Dolphins TE Mychal Rivera 26 Jacksonville Jaguars QB Matt McGloin 27 Philadelphia Eagles LB Perry Riley 28 TBDOT Austin Howard30Baltimore RavensRBTaiwan Jones28Buffalo Bills
Trades Player/picks received Player/compensation sent Team RB Marshawn Lynch6th round pick (2018 draft) 5th round pick (2018 draft) Seattle Seahawks
Contract extensions April 26, 2017 – Raiders sign RB Marshawn Lynch to a two-year deal that will reportedly pay him a base salary of $9 million and has a maximum value of $16.5 million with incentives. June 22, 2017 – Raiders sign QB Derek Carr to a five-year, $125 million contract extension, making him the highest-paid player in the NFL. June 29, 2017 – Raiders sign OG Gabe Jackson to a five-year $56 million contract extension.
Draft
2017 Oakland Raiders Draft Round Selection Player Position College 1 24 Gareon Conley CB Ohio State 2 56 Obi Melifonwu S UConn 3 88 Eddie Vanderdoes DT UCLA 4 130 David Sharpe OT Florida 5 168 Marquel Lee LB Wake Forest 7 221 Shalom Luani S Washington State 231 Jylan Ware OT Alabama State 242 Elijah Hood RB North Carolina 244 Treyvon Hester DT Toledo
Staff
Final roster
Preseason The Raiders' preliminary preseason schedule was announced on April 10. In preparation for the team's eventual move to Las Vegas, the Raiders sought to play at least one of their two preseason games at Sam Boyd Stadium. When the preseason opponents were announced, both home games were scheduled for Oakland.
Donald Penn holdout Offensive tackle Donald Penn chose not to report to training camp on July 28 as he was unhappy with his contract which was to pay him $6.2 million this season in the second season of a two-year deal. Penn ended his holdout without a new deal and reported to the team on August 23. Penn, sought to be paid as a top ten LT in the league, said, “We have a great owner, a good GM. I came in here putting my trust in them.”
Janikowski contract issue Prior to Week 1 of the regular season, the Raiders sought to have kicker Sebastian Janikowski agree to rework his contract to pay him less than the $4 million owed to him for the 2017 season. Janikowski remained on the roster as of September 5, meaning he was guaranteed to be paid $238,000. The Raiders reportedly worked out three kickers in anticipation of being unable to reach an agreement with Janikowski. On September 6, Janikowski agreed to a $1 million pay cut to stay with the team. Three days later, Janikowski was placed on injured reserve due to a back injury.
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 at Arizona Cardinals L 10–20 0–1 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap 2 Los Angeles Rams L 21–24 0–2 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 3 at Dallas Cowboys L 20–24 0–3 AT&T Stadium Recap 4 Seattle Seahawks L 13–17 0–4 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 10 at Tennessee Titans W 26–16 1–0 Nissan Stadium Recap 2 September 17 New York Jets W 45–20 2–0 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 3 September 24 at Washington Redskins L 10–27 2–1 FedExField Recap 4 October 1 at Denver Broncos L 10–16 2–2 Sports Authority Field at Mile High Recap 5 October 8 Baltimore Ravens L 17–30 2–3 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 6 October 15 Los Angeles Chargers L 16–17 2–4 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 7 Kansas City Chiefs W 31–30 3–4 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 8 October 29 at Buffalo Bills L 14–34 3–5 New Era Field Recap 9 November 5 at Miami Dolphins W 27–24 4–5 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 10Bye 11 November 19 New England Patriots L 8–33 4–6 Estadio Azteca Recap 12 November 26 Denver Broncos W 21–14 5–6 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 13 December 3 New York Giants W 24–17 6–6 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 14 December 10 at Kansas City Chiefs L 15–26 6–7 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 15 December 17 Dallas Cowboys L 17–20 6–8 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 16 December 25 at Philadelphia Eagles L 10–19 6–9 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 17 December 31 at Los Angeles Chargers L 10–30 6–10 StubHub Center Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: at Tennessee Titans
For the third consecutive season, the Raiders traveled to Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans. It also marked the second consecutive year that the Raiders began the season on the road. On September 9, one day before the first game of the season, the Raiders placed Sebastian Janikowski on injured reserve due to an injured back. They signed Giorgio Tavecchio off the practice squad to do the kicking.
The Raiders started well as the Titans tried to surprise the Raiders with an onside kick on the opening kickoff which the Raiders recovered. Four plays later, Derek Carr hit Amari Cooper who bowled into the endzone for an eight-yard touchdown pass to give the Raiders the lead 7–0. The Titans answered on their ensuing drive, going 75 yards on 12 plays with Marcus Mariota rushing for a 10-yard touchdown to tie the game. The Raiders came back as Tavecchio hit his first career field goal, a 20-yarder, to give the Raiders a 10–7 lead. After exchanging punts in the early part of the second quarter, the Titans tied the game with 43 seconds remaining in the half on a Ryan Succop 23-yard field goal. The Raider offense moved 41 yards with time winding down to set up Tavecchio's second field goal, from 52 yards out, to give the Raiders the halftime lead 13–10.
In the second half, the Raider defense held the Titans to punts on consecutive drives as the Raiders notched another 52-yard field goal to extend the lead to 16–10 with a little over four minutes left in the third period. The Raider defense prevented a Titans touchdown on the ensuing drive, forcing the Titans to settle for a 26-yard field goal which narrowed the gap to 16–13 as the period expired. In the fourth quarter, Carr led the Raiders on a seven play, 70-yard drive capped off by a Seth Roberts 19-yard touchdown reception. The Raiders defense, which had struggled immensely the previous year, forced the Titans to punt and then held them to a field goal with 4:49 remaining. Another Tavecchio field goal, this time from 43 yards out, extended the lead to 26–16 with 1:14 left in the game. The Titans could muster no more, missing a 52-yard field goal with 12 seconds remaining as the Raiders pulled out the win 26–16.
In the win, Tavecchio became the first kicker in NFL history to make two 50-yard field goals in an NFL debut. Following his performance, Tavecchio was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week. Marshawn Lynch ran for 76 yards on 18 carries in his Raider debut. Carr threw for 262 yards with two touchdown passes to lead the Raiders to a 1–0 record to start the season.
Week 2: vs. New York Jets
The Raiders opened the home portion of their schedule against the New York Jets. After the teams exchanged three-and-outs on their first possessions, the Raiders moved downfield on an 81-yard drive that culminated in a Derek Carr to Michael Crabtree two-yard touchdown pass to give the Raiders an early 7–0 lead. After another Jets punt, the Raiders went 85 yards as Carr hit Crabtree from 26 yards out to extend the lead to 14–0. The Jets answered with a 75-yard drive which ended with a Jermaine Kearse 34-yard pass from Josh McCown for a touchdown, reducing the Raider lead to 14–7. The Raider offense stalled on their next two possessions as the Jets added a 46-yard field goal to narrow the lead to 14–10. With 1:50 remaining in the first half, the Raiders were forced to punt, but Jet returner Kalif Raymond muffed the punt and the Raiders recovered at the Jets four yard line. Three plays later, Oakland native Marshawn Lynch scored from two yards out, his first touchdown as a Raider, to give the Raiders the 21–10 halftime lead.
The Jets began the second half with a field goal that again narrowed the lead, this time to 21–13. The Raiders, however, answered the score convincingly, scoring three touchdowns on their next three possessions as Cordarrelle Patterson and Jalen Richard each scored on long rushing plays and Carr hit Crabtree again from 19 yards out after a Jets fumble to push the lead to 42–13. The Jets added a touchdown midway through the fourth period, but the Raider offense ate up the remaining time on the clock, using 8:17 to go 32 yards before a Georgio Tavecchio 29-yard field goal pushed the lead to 45–20 with 25 seconds remaining. The 45–20 win moved the Raiders to 2–0 on the season, the first time since 2002 that they had started a season 2–0.
Derek Carr completed 23 of 28 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns, all to Michael Crabtree. Crabtree caught six passes for 80 yards to go along with his three touchdowns. Marshawn Lynch only rushed for 45 yards on 12 carries, but did get a touchdown as the Raiders rushed for 180 yards in the game. The Raider defense played well again limiting the Jets to 276 yards in the game and sacking Jets QB Josh McCown four times.
Week 3: at Washington Redskins