The 2022 season was the Las Vegas Raiders' 53rd season in the National Football League (NFL), their 63rd overall, their third in Las Vegas and their first under the head coach/general manager tandem of Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler.
The Raiders started the season with a 2–7 record on their way to a disappointing 6–11 record, missing the playoffs. The Raiders failed to improve on their 10–7 record from the previous season and had their first losing season since 2019. Throughout the season, the Raiders had suffered several blown leads, which included giving up leads by at least 17 points in three games. Nine of their 11 losses were all within one-possession. They became the first team in NFL history to lose five or more times in a season while leading by double-digits in the second half.
Offseason
Front office changes On January 17, the team announced that general manager Mike Mayock had been fired after three years with the team. On January 30, the Raiders named longtime New England Patriots' executive Dave Ziegler as their new general manager. On May 6, Raiders' owner Mark Davis announced that team president Dan Ventrelle was no longer with the organization. Following this, Ventrelle alleged that Raiders' owner Mark Davis created a hostile work environment, and once the former president acknowledged this, he was fired. Around May 21, Marcel Reece, already senior advisor and then chief people officer, became team senior vice president, chief of staff. On July 7, the team announced Sandra Douglass Morgan as new president. Morgan is the first black woman in NFL history to assume this role.
Coaching changes Interim coach Rich Bisaccia, who replaced Jon Gruden after he resigned five games into the 2021 season due to the publication of homophobic, misogynistic, and racist emails he sent prior to becoming the Raiders head coach, was not assured of returning as head coach despite the Raiders making the playoffs the previous season. Bisaccia did interview for the permanent coaching position. However, the Raiders conducted other interviews as well.
On January 31, the team officially named New England Patriots' offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels the team's new head coach. McDaniels named Mick Lombardi offensive coordinator and Patrick Graham defensive coordinator.
Notable free agent acquisitions Position Player Age 2021 teamLBChandler Jones32Arizona CardinalsLBKenny Young27Denver BroncosWRKeelan Cole29New York JetsWRJordan Veasy27Houston TexansDTTyler Lancaster28Green Bay PackersTEJesper Horsted25Chicago BearsCBChris Jones27Tennessee TitansWRIsaiah Zuber25San Francisco 49ers / Cleveland Browns / New York JetsSMatthias Farley30Tennessee Titans
Trades March 17, 2022 To Las Vegas RaidersRock Ya-Sin To Indianapolis ColtsYannick Ngakoue March 18, 2022 To Las Vegas RaidersDavante Adams To Green Bay Packers2022 1st round pick (Quay Walker)2022 2nd round pick May 13, 2022 To Las Vegas Raiders2023 5th round pick To Atlanta FalconsBryan Edwards2023 7th round conditional pick May 13, 2022 To Las Vegas RaidersJarrett Stidham2023 7th round pick To New England Patriots2023 6th round pick August 17, 2022 To Las Vegas Raiders2024 7th round conditional pick To Tennessee TitansTyree Gillespie August 22, 2022 To Las Vegas Raiders2024 7th round conditional pick To Minnesota VikingsNick Mullens August 30, 2022 To Las Vegas Raiders2023 7th round conditional pick To Arizona CardinalsTrayvon Mullen September 21, 2022 To Las Vegas RaidersJustin Herron 2024 7th round pick To New England Patriots2024 6th round pick October 25, 2022 To Las Vegas Raiders2023 6th round pick To Dallas CowboysJohnathan Hankins2024 7th round pick
Notable players released Position Player Age 2022 teamLBNick Kwiatkoski28Atlanta FalconsLBCory Littleton28Carolina PanthersDECarl Nassib28Tampa Bay BuccaneersRBKenyan Drake28Baltimore RavensOTAlex Leatherwood23Chicago Bears
Draft
2022 Las Vegas Raiders Draft Round Selection Player Position College Notes 1 22 Traded to Green Bay 2 53 Traded to Green Bay 3 86 Traded to Tennessee 90 Dylan Parham OG Memphis from Tennessee 4 122 Zamir White RB Georgia from Indianapolis via Minnesota 126 Neil Farrell Jr. DT LSU from Las Vegas via Minnesota 5 164 Traded to the Los Angeles Rams from New England 165 Traded to Minnesota 169 Traded to Minnesota from Tennessee 175 Matthew Butler DT Tennessee from LA Rams 6 199 Traded to Carolina 7 227 Traded to Minnesota from Carolina 238 Thayer Munford OT Ohio State from Miami via LA Rams 243 Traded to New England 250 Brittain Brown RB UCLA from San Francisco via Denver and Minnesota Draft trades
+ 2022 Las Vegas Raiders undrafted free agents Name Position College Ref. Darien Butler LB Arizona State Qwynnterrio Cole S Louisville Bryce Cosby CB Ball State Cole Fotheringham TE Utah Chase Garbers QB California Justin Hall WR Ball State Luke Masterson LB Wake Forest Sincere McCormick RB UTSA Malkelm Morrison CB Army Bamidele Olaseni OT Utah Isaiah Pola-Mao S USC Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa DE Notre Dame Tré Turner WR Virginia Tech Zach VanValkenburg DE Iowa Sam Webb CB Missouri Western
Staff
Final roster
Preseason On February 28, the NFL announced that the Raiders would play the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on Thursday, August 4, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, at 5:00 p.m. PDT. The Raiders had two former players enter the Hall of Fame, wide receiver Cliff Branch, who died in 2019, as well as defensive tackle Richard Seymour. The two teams will meet again during the regular season in Jacksonville. On May 12, the rest of the Raiders' preseason opponents were announced. The complete preseason schedule was announced on May 18.
The Raiders won all of their preseason games closing with a 4–0 record; it was the first time in team history the Raiders went undefeated in the preseason.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap HOF vs. Jacksonville Jaguars W 27–11 1–0 Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium Recap 1 August 14 Minnesota Vikings W 26–20 2–0 Allegiant Stadium Recap 2 at Miami Dolphins W 15–13 3–0 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 3 New England Patriots W 23–6 4–0 Allegiant Stadium Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 11 at Los Angeles Chargers L 19–24 0–1 SoFi Stadium Recap 2 September 18 Arizona Cardinals L 23–29 0–2 Allegiant Stadium Recap 3 September 25 at Tennessee Titans L 22–24 0–3 Nissan Stadium Recap 4 October 2 Denver Broncos W 32–23 1–3 Allegiant Stadium Recap 5 at Kansas City Chiefs L 29–30 1–4 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 6Bye 7 October 23 Houston Texans W 38–20 2–4 Allegiant Stadium Recap 8 October 30 at New Orleans Saints L 0–24 2–5 Caesars Superdome Recap 9 November 6 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 20–27 2–6 TIAA Bank Field Recap 10 November 13 Indianapolis Colts L 20–25 2–7 Allegiant Stadium Recap 11 November 20 at Denver Broncos W 22–16 3–7 Empower Field at Mile High Recap 12 November 27 at Seattle Seahawks W 40–34 4–7 Lumen Field Recap 13 December 4 Los Angeles Chargers W 27–20 5–7 Allegiant Stadium Recap 14 at Los Angeles Rams L 16–17 5–8 SoFi Stadium Recap 15 December 18 New England Patriots W 30–24 6–8 Allegiant Stadium Recap 16 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 10–13 6–9 Acrisure Stadium Recap 17 January 1 San Francisco 49ers L 34–37 6–10 Allegiant Stadium Recap 18 Kansas City Chiefs L 13–31 6–11 Allegiant Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: at Los Angeles Chargers The Raiders began the season on the road facing their division rival, the Los Angeles Chargers, at SoFi Stadium.
The Chargers got the ball first and moved quickly into Raiders territory before the Vegas defense stiffened and forced the Chargers to settle for a 43-yard field goal and an early 3–0 lead. The Raiders answered by also moving into their opponent's territory and, helped by a Davante Adams catch and run, reached the Chargers four yard line. However, a loss on a Josh Jacobs run and two incomplete passes led to Daniel Carlson's 23-yard field goal to tie the game. Following punts by both teams, the game moved to the second quarter and Justin Herbert hit Zander Horvath on a one-yard touchdown pass to give Los Angeles the 10–3 lead. The Raiders were again forced to punt and the Chargers moved to the Raiders 28. However, they chose to go for it on fourth down and were stuffed by the Raiders defense giving Las Vegas the ball with 1:38 left in the half. Following a sack on the first play of the ensuing possession, Derek Carr was intercepted at midfield and the Chargers returned the ball to the Las Vegas 31 with 45 seconds left in the half. Two plays later, Herbert threw his second toudown pass of the game, a 25-yard score to DeAndre Carter to extend the Los Angeles lead to 17–3 with 35 seconds left in the half. The Raiders chose to kneel on the final play of the half and entered halftime trailing by two touchdowns.
In the second half, the Raiders scored quickly as Carr his Adams for a 41-yard play that moved the ball into Los Angeles territory. Three plays later, Carr hit Brandon Bolden for an 18-yard touchdown to narrow the score to 17–10. However, the Chargers quickly responded as Herbert hit Gerald Everett for an 18-yard touchdown of his own, returning the Chargers' lead to 14. The Raiders moved into Los Angeles territory on the next possession, but were forced to settle for a 55-yard field goal to move within 10. Following a punt by the Chargers early in the fourth quarter, Carr hit Darren Waller for a 23-yard gain, but was intercepted for the second time a play later on a pass intended for Adams at the Chargers two yard line. Following a punt by the Chargers, Carr was intercepted for the third time in the game, giving the Chargers the ball at midfield. After forcing the Chargers to attempt a 49-yard field goal that was no good, Carr moved the Raiders into Los Angeles territory. with less than five minutes remaining in the game, Carr hit Adams for a three-yard touchdown to narrow the score to 24–19. Following an Los Angeles punt, the Raiders took over with 3:30 left in the game. However, Carr was sacked by former Raider Khalil Mack and fumbled the ball giving the Chargers the ball with 1:52 left in the game. The Chargers were able to run out the clock to win the game 24–19.
The loss moved the Raiders to 0–1 on the season. Carr threw for 295 yards in the loss, but had four turnovers (three interceptions and a fumble) in the loss. Adams had 10 receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown in his first game for Vegas.
Week 2: vs. Arizona Cardinals