Raiders 53-man roster: Promising offense, troubling D, surprising rookie cuts

HENDERSON, Nev. — This past week has been an eventful one for the Las Vegas Raiders.

They received — and denied — a trade request from receiver Jakobi Meyers amid a contract dispute. In a move they were already exploring to add depth to the room, they reunited with receiver Amari Cooper on a one-year deal. In the wake of losing backup quarterback Aidan O’Connell for the foreseeable future due to a fractured wrist, they swung a trade for Kenny Pickett to serve as Geno Smith insurance.

Advertisement

And then on Tuesday, the Raiders officially cut their roster down to 53 players. They also placed safety Lonnie Johnson Jr., who’s recovering from surgery to repair a broken fibula, on injured reserve. Johnson will be eligible to return after the first four games of the season.

The players who the Raiders released will be subject to waivers. Other teams are allowed to claim them until 9 a.m. PT on Wednesday. Once that deadline passes, the Raiders and every other team in the NFL will be permitted to sign players to their practice squad.

Here are five takeaways from the Raiders’ initial 53-man roster.

The lack of defensive depth is alarming

Let’s start with the positive: The offense looks to be in solid shape. Smith and Jeanty are major upgrades over what the Raiders had at those spots last year and they both have backups that can step up in a pinch. The tight end room is loaded, between Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer, and Ian Thomas is a dependable utility player.

While the resolution to Meyers’ demand for an extension and trade request remains to be seen, he was present at practice on Tuesday. If he remains in tow, the Cooper signing really fortifies the receiver corps. Although questions remain about the ceiling for the offensive line, the overall room has the versatility you need to feel comfortable getting through the season.

The defense, on the other hand, is concerning at all three levels. Defensive end is a spot that has excellent depth between Maxx Crosby, Malcolm Koonce and Tyree Wilson. And at safety, Isaiah Pola-Mao and Jeremy Chinn are known commodities. There are issues just about everywhere else.

It’s still unclear who the starter at defensive tackle opposite Adam Butler will be, and it’s hard to identify surefire contributors from that group. There’s a lot of familiar names at linebacker, but the room is depending heavily on bounceback seasons from Devin White and Jamal Adams.

Advertisement

Darien Porter and Eric Stokes look to be the starters at cornerback, but Kyu Blu Kelly is now nursing a hamstring injury and Decamerion Richardson still looks like a raw player in Year 2.

Darnay Holmes is the only true nickelback on the roster, and he’s average at best. The safety depth is also hurting with Johnson sidelined.

It will be a tall task for defensive coordinator Patrick Graham to get a competent level of play out of this group. The Raiders will certainly make moves to improve in-season, but this feels like an issue that will remain unsolved until 2026.

Diversity in the running back room

The four running backs the Raiders kept will all have different roles. Ashton Jeanty is the every-down bellcow back. Zamir White is the power back who can spell Jeanty and specialize in short-yardage situations. Raheem Mostert is the third-down back who can serve as a reliable pass blocker and serve as a solid receiving option. Dylan Laube is a returner who can also contribute on special teams coverage teams. The coaching staff prioritized varying skillsets.

“I think it would be unfair to Ashton to say, ‘You’re the main guy at every single one of those jobs.’ You want to have other guys who can come in and spell him,” running back coach Deland McCullough said last week. “We want Ashton to be effective for us for the entire season. And then, yeah, in the back of your mind, you want to give him some preservation for his career. That’s the reason the room was built the way it is. … So, you want to build a room with an identity of being mentally and physically tough, but you want some interchangeable pieces in there to supplement the main guy.”

Sincere McCormick was the odd man out. He showed flashes of being an effective runner last year, but he’s struggled to stay healthy and doesn’t offer much special teams value. Ultimately, the decision came down to keeping McCormick or Mostert, but the coaching staff favored Mostert, according to a league source. The expectation is McCormick won’t be back on the practice squad, according to a league source.

Advertisement

There were a couple surprise rookie cuts

With O’Connell out for six-to-eight weeks, it would have made sense to place him on IR. Instead, the Raiders kept him on the active roster and waived Cam Miller. Perhaps O’Connell will be able to return sooner than initially thought, but it was a curious decision to subject Miller to the waiver wire.

The Raiders also decided to keep linebacker Cody Lindenberg over receiver Tommy Mellott. Mellott took on the arduous task of converting from quarterback to receiver with the Raiders. And while he’s still early on in the process, he has a lot of physical talent and is also a skilled returner. Lindenberg didn’t show much in training camp, will be buried on the linebacker depth chart and will likely be limited to special teams this year. It feels more likely that another team may grab Mellott.

Waiving Laki Tasi could be a risk that comes back to bite the Raiders

To be clear, Tasi won’t be ready to play this year. The former Australian rugby player had no experience playing football before this year and is as raw as they come. Still, his size (6-foot-6, 373 pounds), athleticism and movement skills give him a lot of upside. He’s shown he’s a quick learner and had some nice moments in the preseason. He’ll draw interest from other teams, and he could possibly get claimed on the waiver wire.

The Raiders are betting that other teams’ lack of familiarity with where Tasi is in his development will cause them to hold off on claiming him. If they’re right, then they can sign Tasi back to their practice squad. Since he’s a part of the International Player Pathway program, they’d be allotted a 17th spot to do so.

First and foremost, though, Tasi has to get there. If he gets picked up elsewhere, this could be a move the Raiders come to regret.

Nickelback should be a priority on the waiver wire

This is the weakest position on the roster for the Raiders. Veteran Mike Hilton was recently cut by the Miami Dolphins and stands out as an option, but there are other intriguing options who could be available.

Safety Jeremy Chinn can play nickelback, but it’s an underutilization of his skillset to have him in that role full time. As it stands, however, that’s the best option the Raiders have.

Advertisement

The Raiders are sixth in the waiver wire order, so they’ll be in a good position to grab a player of value. There are certainly other positions they could look to add depth, but picking up a reliable nickelback would be particularly impactful.

(Photo: Candice Ward / Getty Images)

Click here to read article