Oakland Raiders vs. Tennessee Titans: Five Things To Watch

First cuts are August 30th, 4:00PM EST

As mentioned in the title of the slide, first cuts are due just three days after the Titans game.

The pressure is on, and the players know it. The coaches also know it, so it’ll be interesting to see which players see snaps and which don’t. It could be telling to the first round of cuts.

The Raiders have a 90-man roster, but that includes Marcel Reece and Gabe Holmes. Reece is suspended but is eligible for the preseason roster, while Aldon Smith is not. So Aldon isn’t included in the 90-man group.

With Holmes expected to go to IR, that would put the Raiders down to 89 players if they do that before the cut deadline — and also assuming they don’t add another player. All teams will have to get down to 75 players. So the team will need to cut either 14 or 15 players depending on what they do with Holmes.

Looking at the snap counts for players, who sees time with the second or third team, or who doesn’t see any playing time at all, might be telling for who those 14 or 15 cuts will be.

The fifth WR spot seems to be Johnny Holton’s. But the third running back spot, whether or not the Raiders will carry nine offensive lineman, if Latham and/or James Cowser will make the team, and the fourth safety spot are all up for grabs.