| Team: | Oakland Raiders |
| Year: | 2018 |
| Record: | 4–12 |
| Division Place: | 4th AFC West |
| Owner: | Mark Davis |
| General Manager: | Reggie McKenzie (fired Week 14) Shaun Herock (Week 15-17) |
| Stadium: | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers: | TE Jared Cook |
| Uniform: | Image:Raiders_uniform_update_1-03-2017.png |
| Shortnavlink: | Raiders seasons |
The 2018 season was the Oakland Raiders' 49th in the National Football League (NFL), their 59th overall, their 24th since their return to Oakland, and their first under head coach Jon Gruden since his rehiring by the organization (fifth overall). The Raiders finished the season with a 4–12 record, failing to improve upon their previous season's record of 6–10, and their worst since 2014.
With a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 13, the Raiders were eliminated from playoff contention for the second consecutive season. With their week 15 loss to the Bengals, the Raiders failed to improve their record from the previous season. The loss also secured their spot at last in the AFC West.[1]
On December 10, the Raiders fired general manager Reggie McKenzie who had been with the Raiders since 2012.[2] [3]
This was the first time since 1999 that Sebastian Janikowski was not on the opening day roster.
Although the league approved the Raiders' eventual relocation to Las Vegas on March 27, 2017, the team maintained its lease at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum and used the stadium for the 2018 season while the team's new stadium in Las Vegas was under construction.[4] Initially in April 2017, the operators of the Coliseum stated they would be unwilling to sign a lease extension for the team to play at the stadium while their new venue in Las Vegas was being built;[5] however by September of that year, the Coliseum operators expressed willingness to negotiate, but insisted on concessions to compensate for the million-dollar deficit the Coliseum runs by hosting Raiders games.[6] Owner Mark Davis stated he preferred to stay in Oakland for the 2019 season but was considering other options, including Las Vegas's Sam Boyd Stadium, Berkeley's California Memorial Stadium, Mackay Stadium in Reno, Nevada;[7] the San Francisco 49ers's Levi's Stadium and even the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, a venue thought to have been ruled out in 2014. Davis acknowledged that if fans failed to support the team similarly to the 1996 Houston Oilers, it could hasten the relocation. Team management also indicated they would relocate after 2018 if there were any lawsuits filed against the team; the city of Oakland sued the Raiders and all other teams in the league on December 11, 2018, however the Raiders remained in Oakland for the final year despite the lawsuit.[8]
On January 6, 2018, the Raiders hired their former head coach, Jon Gruden, who returned to the Raiders and coaching from ESPN's Monday Night Football.[9] Gruden received a 10-year, $100-million contract to return to the Raiders.[10] Gruden last coached in the NFL in 2008 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and last coached the Raiders in 2001. At the press conference announcing the hiring of Gruden on January 9, Gruden announced that Los Angeles Rams quarterbacks coach Greg Olson had been hired as offensive coordinator, though Gruden would call plays, while former Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther was hired as the new defensive coordinator.[11] Gruden also announced that former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia was hired to serve as special teams coordinator.[12] On January 29, the Raiders named Brian Callahan, son of their former head coach Bill Callahan, as the new quarterbacks coach.[13]
On September 1, 2018, the Raiders traded defensive star Khalil Mack along with their 2020 2nd round pick to the Chicago Bears for two first round picks (RB Josh Jacobs and CB Damon Arnette), a 2019 6th round pick, and a 2020 3rd round pick, after he had held out of training camp.[14]
| Position | Player | Age | 2017 Team | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WR | Jordy Nelson[15] | 32 | Green Bay Packers | 2 years, $15 million |
| RB | Doug Martin | 29 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1 year, $1.475 million[16] |
| TE | Derek Carrier[17] | 27 | Los Angeles Rams | 3 years, $5.55 million[18] |
| FB | Keith Smith[19] | 25 | Dallas Cowboys | 2 years, $3 million[20] |
| S | Marcus Gilchrist[21] | 29 | Houston Texans | 1 year, $4 million[22] |
| LB | Tahir Whitehead[23] | 27 | Detroit Lions | 3 years, $19 million[24] |
| DT | Justin Ellis[25] | 27 | Oakland Raiders | 3 years, $15 million |
| TE | Lee Smith | 30 | Oakland Raiders | 3 years, $9 million[26] |
| LS | Andrew DePaola[27] | 30 | Chicago Bears | 4 years, $4.27 million[28] |
| QB | Josh Johnson[29] | 31 | Houston Texans | 1 year, $1.005 million[30] |
| CB | Shareece Wright[31] | 30 | Buffalo Bills | 1 year, $1.005 million[32] |
| S | Reggie Nelson[33] | 34 | Oakland Raiders | 1 year, $2.5 million[34] |
| WR | Dwayne Harris[35] | 30 | New York Giants | 1 year, $880,000[36] |
| DE | Armonty Bryant[37] | 27 | Detroit Lions | 1 year, $790,000[38] |
| CB | Senquez Golson[39] | 24 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1 year, $555,000[40] |
| LB | Shilique Calhoun[41] | 26 | Oakland Raiders | 1 year, $555,000[42] |
| LB/DE | James Cowser | 27 | Oakland Raiders | 1 year, $630,000[43] |
| S | Erik Harris | 28 | Oakland Raiders | 1 year, $555,000[44] |
| G/T | Denver Kirkland | 24 | Oakland Raiders | 1 year, $630,000[45] |
| K | Giorgio Tavecchio | 27 | Oakland Raiders | 1 year, $555,000[46] |
| CB | Daryl Worley[47] | 23 | Carolina Panthers (traded to Philadelphia before being released) | 1 year, $630,000[48] |
| LB | Derrick Johnson[49] | 35 | Kansas City Chiefs | 1 year, $3 million[50] |
| S | Dallin Leavitt[51] | 24 | N/A (college) | 3 years, $1.71 million[52] |
| LS | Drew Scott | 23 | N/A (college) | 3 years, $1.71 million[53] |
| G | Cameron Hunt[54] | 26 | Denver Broncos | 2 years, $1.05 million[55] |
| DT | Ahtyba Rubin[56] | 32 | Atlanta Falcons | 1 year, $1.015 million[57] |
| DT | Frostee Rucker | 34 | Arizona Cardinals | 1 year, $1.015 million[58] |
| FB | Ryan Yurachek[59] | 22 | N/A (college) | 3 years, $1.71 million[60] |
| Position | Player | Age | 2018 Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| WR | Michael Crabtree | 30 | Baltimore Ravens[61] |
| OL | Marshall Newhouse[62] | 29 | Buffalo Bills[63] |
| CB | Sean Smith | 30 | Free agent |
| CB | T. J. Carrie | 27 | Cleveland Browns[64] |
| DE | Denico Autry | 27 | Indianapolis Colts[65] |
| LB | Aldon Smith[66] | 28 | Free agent |
| CB | David Amerson[67] | 26 | Kansas City Chiefs[68] |
| K | Sebastian Janikowski[69] | 39 | Seattle Seahawks[70] |
| P | Marquette King[71] | 29 | Denver Broncos[72] |
| TE | Clive Walford[73] | 26 | New York Jets |
| LS | Andrew East[74] | 26 | Memphis Express (AAF),[75] Washington Redskins[76] |
| DT | Darius Latham[77] | 23 | Free agent |
| DE | Armonty Bryant[78] | 27 | Retirement[79] |
| LB | Cory James | 24 | Free agent |
| QB | Josh Johnson[80] | 31 | San Diego Fleet,[81] Washington Redskins[82] |
| P | Colby Wadman[83] | 23 | Denver Broncos[84] |
| C | Alex Officer | 22 | Kansas City Chiefs[85] |
| QB | Christian Hackenberg[86] | 23 | Cincinnati Bengals,[87] Memphis Express |
| LB | Brady Sheldon | 25 | Cleveland Browns,[88] Green Bay Packers[89] |
| FB | Henry Poggi | 24 | New England Patriots[90] |
| Player/picks received | Player/compensation sent | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 5th round pick (2018 draft) (originally owned by KC)(Traded to the Indianapolis Colts during the NFL draft) (WR Daurice Fountain) | WR Cordarrelle Patterson[91] 6th round pick (2018 draft) (Braxton Berrios) | New England Patriots |
| 5th round pick (2018 draft) (P Johnny Townsend) | FB Jamize Olawale[92] 6th round pick (2018 draft) (Jamil Demby) | Dallas Cowboys |
| WR Martavis Bryant | 3rd round pick (2018 draft) (Rasheem Green)[93] | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| WR Ryan Switzer | DE Jihad Ward[94] | Dallas Cowboys |
| QB Christian Hackenberg | conditional 7th round pick (2019 draft)[95] | New York Jets |
| 1st round pick (2019 draft) (RB Josh Jacobs) 1st round pick (2020 draft) (CB Damon Arnette) 3rd round pick (2020 draft) (WR Bryan Edwards) 6th round pick (2019 draft)(Traded to the New York Jets in the 2019 offseason) | DE/OLB Khalil Mack[96] 2nd round pick (2020 draft) (Cole Kmet) conditional 7th round pick (2020 draft) | Chicago Bears |
| 1st round pick (2019 draft) (S Johnathan Abram) | WR Amari Cooper[97] | Dallas Cowboys |
See main article: 2018 NFL draft.
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | From Arizona | |||||
| 2 | 57 | From Tennessee | ||||
| 3 | 65 | From Baltimore | ||||
| 87 | From LA Rams | |||||
| 4 | 110 | |||||
| 5 | 140 | From Indianapolis | ||||
| 173 | From Dallas | |||||
| 6 | 216 | Compensatory pick | ||||
| 7 | 228 |
Source[105]
The Raiders' preseason opponents and schedule were released on April 11.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | NFL.com recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Detroit Lions | W 16–10 | 1–0 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | Recap | ||
| 2 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 15–19 | 1–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Recap | ||
| 3 | Green Bay Packers | W 13–6 | 2–1 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | Recap | ||
| 4 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 30–19 | 3–1 | CenturyLink Field | Recap |
On January 11, the NFL announced that the Raiders will play host to the Seattle Seahawks in a London Game in London, England. The game site, originally slated for Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, was later moved to Wembley Stadium. This marked the fourth time in five seasons in which the Raiders played a game outside the United States, as well as their second visit to London (the other being 2014).[106]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | NFL.com recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles Rams | L 13–33 | 0–1 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | Recap | ||
| 2 | September 16 | at Denver Broncos | L 19–20 | 0–2 | Broncos Stadium at Mile High | Recap | |
| 3 | September 23 | at Miami Dolphins | L 20–28 | 0–3 | Hard Rock Stadium | Recap | |
| 4 | September 30 | Cleveland Browns | W 45–42 | 1–3 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | Recap | |
| 5 | October 7 | at Los Angeles Chargers | L 10–26 | 1–4 | StubHub Center | Recap | |
| 6 | October 14 | Seattle Seahawks | L 3–27 | 1–5 | Recap | ||
| 7 | Bye | ||||||
| 8 | October 28 | Indianapolis Colts | L 28–42 | 1–6 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | Recap | |
| 9 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 3–34 | 1–7 | Levi's Stadium | Recap | ||
| 10 | November 11 | Los Angeles Chargers | L 6–20 | 1–8 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | Recap | |
| 11 | November 18 | at Arizona Cardinals | W 23–21 | 2–8 | State Farm Stadium | Recap | |
| 12 | November 25 | at Baltimore Ravens | L 17–34 | 2–9 | M&T Bank Stadium | Recap | |
| 13 | December 2 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 33–40 | 2–10 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | Recap | |
| 14 | December 9 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 24–21 | 3–10 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | Recap | |
| 15 | December 16 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 16–30 | 3–11 | Paul Brown Stadium | Recap | |
| 16 | Denver Broncos | W 27–14 | 4–11 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | Recap | ||
| 17 | December 30 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 3–35 | 4–12 | Arrowhead Stadium | Recap | |
During the game, tight end Jared Cook set a new franchise record for most receiving yards in a game by a Raiders tight end finishing the night with 180 yards on nine catches. The previous record was held by Todd Christensen with 173 yards on November 20, 1986 against the San Diego Chargers.[107] He was one of only six tight ends to ever record over 180 yards receiving since 1999.[108] Quarterback Derek Carr threw three interceptions in a game for his second time in his career, the previous time was against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2015.[109]
This game was the first game for the Raiders without wide receiver Amari Cooper, as the Dallas Cowboys traded their 2019 1st round draft pick in exchange for Cooper the week before the game.