The Las Vegas Raiders were more active than most teams in NFL free agency. It’s not expected to be enough to get the team into the playoffs in its first season since leaving Oakland.

Las Vegas is considered an underdog in its quest to make the postseason at FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook with +240 odds. The Raiders are given slightly north of -300 odds to miss the playoffs in the 2020 season.

The Raiders made one of the biggest defensive additions in free agency, signing Cory Littleton to a three-year, $36 million deal. Littleton had 135 tackles, 3.5 sacks and two interceptions for the Los Angeles Rams in 2019. He was the best linebacker to change teams in free agency.

Defensive tackle Maliek Collins, safety Damarious Randall, linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski and wide receiver Nelson Agholor were among the team’s other notable additions. Defensive end Carl Nassib joins the Raiders after recording six sacks for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season.

Marcus Mariota will make $7.5 million in 2020 to start the season as Derek Carr’s backup. The quarterback lost his starting job with the Tennessee Titans to Ryan Tannehill in the middle of the 2019 season.

Tahir Whitehead might be Las Vegas’ most significant loss of the offseason. The linebacker led the team with 108 tackles. Safety Karl Joseph is gone, as well, after recording 49 tackles and an interception in nine games.

Playing in the AFC West doesn’t help Las Vegas’ chances. The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are overwhelming favorites to win the division. Patrick Mahomes has led the Chiefs to the AFC Championship Game in both seasons as the team’s starting quarterback.

Jon Gruden led the Raiders to a disappointing 4-12 record in 2018 at the start of his second stint as the team’s head coach. The Raiders improved to 7-9 in 2019, coming up short down the stretch. They lost five of their final six games after a 6-4 start.

The NFL has expanded the playoffs from six teams to seven teams in each conference for the 2020 season. The Raiders were the No.9 seed last year, finishing two games out of the playoffs.

Under the new format, Las Vegas would have finished only a game out of the wild-card race.

Marcus Mariota Tennessee Titans
Quarterback Marcus Mariota #8 of the Tennessee Titans throws a pass in the first quarter against the Buffalo Bills at New Era Field on October 7, 2018 in Buffalo, New York. Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
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