The Las Vegas Raiders signed veteran Elandon Roberts to help fill the void left at linebacker after the departures of Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo. What was once a strength for the Silver and Black quickly became a weakness within mere hours of free agency starting.
After four seasons with the New England Patriots, three with the Miami Dolphins, and two with the Steelers, Roberts joins the Raiders looking to return to the linebacker who registered over 100 tackles two consecutive seasons in a row just two seasons ago.
During his nine seasons in the league, Roberts has appeared in 140 games, which included 105 starts. While the Raiders will have some difficulty transitioning from Spillane to Roberts, the experience Roberts brings should make it a relatively smooth one for Las Vegas.
Roberts noted that as he enters his 10th season in the NFL next season, he has learned some lessons to help him on his new team. His experience should be a valuable asset for the Raiders.
"Not taking it for granted. Not taking your opponents for granted, not taking what you do for granted, not taking your teammates, your coaches, even the relationships you build with the media for granted. Because it all reflects on you and stuff like that. And one thing about myself, my dad's a military guy, so I'm very structured. I'm very to the point," Roberts said.
"Up here right now, you might be like, 'He's going to not look like a fun guy, he might just want to talk football all day.' But it's not that, it's a standpoint, it's a time and a place for everything. If we don't keep the main thing the main thing, you're going to tear me up. It's just a part of it."
"But it's not that I'm pinpointing you guys or just throwing it out there. You guys have a job to do, and obviously, you want to see the organization have a good product out there each Sunday. So, it's my job to make sure that I hold myself to that standard to be able to do that, and that's why I don't cheat the process."
