The Las Vegas Raiders have been forced to spend big in free agency over the years in an attempt to make up for their inability to effectively draft. Swings and misses on the open market have then plagued the team and set them back even further, causing a vicious cycle for the Silver and Black.
Cornerback Nate Hobbs was an exception to this, as the former fifth-round pick out of Illinois starred for the Raiders over the last four seasons. He was the team’s top defensive back at times throughout his tenure, but unfortunately, he was not re-signed by the new regime this offseason.
His departure deeply hurt the fan base, as he was a talented player at a key position and expressed his desire to remain a Raider. However, the new leadership tandem in Las Vegas had some concerns about him, and he ultimately signed with the Green Bay Packers on a four-year, $48 million deal.
Former Raiders CB Nate Hobbs to miss time with Packers due to injury
One of the biggest gripes that Raider Nation had with Hobbs was his inability to stay on the field. He never played an entire season in Las Vegas and appeared in just 51 of a possible 68 games in his stint with the team. This included just 11 games played in 2024.
Reports from Packers training camp, however, indicated that Hobbs was healthy and playing well enough to be a key factor for the Green Bay defense in 2025. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse when ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reported that Hobbs underwent knee surgery over the weekend.
This comes as no surprise to Raiders fans, who knew that no matter how good Hobbs was on the field, he had had unfortunate luck with injuries. His most recent issue is a torn meniscus that will keep him out for the remainder of training camp.
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The hope is that Hobbs will be back for the Packers’ season opener against the Detroit Lions, and the former Raider is keeping in good spirits despite being sidelined once again.
“I get paid to do this, so anything that’s a concern on my body, I need to try to get on right away,” Hobbs said. “I felt like it was something we needed to do. They gave me the option of whether I wanted to do it the next day or the day after, I’m like, ‘We can do this today. Let’s get ahead of starting to get back.’
Head coach Matt LaFleur was not quite as optimistic, as he refused to put a timetable on Hobbs’ recovery.
“I’m not going to put a timetable on it. We’re hoping to get him back here sooner than later.”
Matt LaFleur
This is just another unfortunate roadblock that the fan base has seen Hobbs come back from before, but the new regime was simply not willing to take a gamble on him. Raider Nation is hoping that Hobbs enjoys a speedy recovery and can contribute for the Packers’ defense this season.
