The Las Vegas Raiders' initial 53-man roster is out ahead of the 2026 NFL season.
Everyone already has their opinions on the team that John Spytek and Klint Kubiak put together, whether they think a certain player should have been discarded or included, or perhaps they have several names of players in mind that won't last long on the Silver and Black's active roster.
And we do too. But that's not what this article is about.
We have decided to take an unconventional path to breaking down the Raiders' first roster iteration in wacky ways that fans should love. Check out the table of contents and see which way of analyzing this team strikes your fancy, and have some fun learning about the new-look squad in Las Vegas.
- How was each player on the Raiders' roster acquired?
- Which GM brought these players to Las Vegas (or Oakland)?
- What is the average age on the Raiders' roster (and which position group is the oldest?)
- Which college football conference is best-represented in Las Vegas?
- Who is reunited with a former college teammate in Silver & Black?
- From which state does each player on the Raiders' roster hail?
- At which position does Las Vegas have the most money invested in for 2026?
- Who was the Raiders' QB the year each player on the roster was born?
How was each player on the Raiders' roster acquired?
Pretty straightforward here: What method did the Silver and Black use to acquire the 53 players currently on the active roster?
Acquired Via | Total Number | % of Roster |
|---|---|---|
Draft | 27 | 50.9 |
Free Agency | 19 | 35.8 |
Waivers | 3 | 5.66 |
Trade | 2 | 3.77 |
UDFA | 2 | 3.77 |
Which GM brought these players to Las Vegas (or Oakland)?
This one is fun: Which general manager still has influence on the Raiders' roster?
Bonus points if you can name the three remaining Oakland-era players.
General Manager | Total | % of Roster |
|---|---|---|
Reggie McKenzie (2012-18) | 1 | 1.89 |
Mike Mayock (2019-21) | 3 | 5.66 |
Dave Ziegler (2022-23) | 5 | 9.43 |
Tom Telesco (2024) | 5 | 9.43 |
John Spytek (2025-26) | 39 | 73.58 |
What is the average age on the Raiders' roster (and which position group is the oldest?)
It's pretty fun having a young roster. And if not for a handful of older outliers (I'm looking at you, Kirk), then the team would appear even more youthful.
Position | Average Age | Total Years of Exp. |
|---|---|---|
ENTIRE ROSTER | 26.09 | 176 |
RB | 24.5 | 7 |
IOL | 24.8 | 12 |
WR | 25.0 | 12 |
LB | 25.2 | 15 |
CB | 25.2 | 17 |
OT | 25.3 | 11 |
SAF | 25.8 | 12 |
TE | 26.0 | 15 |
DT | 27.2 | 22 |
DE | 28.0 | 22 |
QB | 29.0 | 17 |
ST | 29.7 | 14 |
Which college football conference is best-represented in Las Vegas?
Which conference reigns supreme at Raiders HQ? The top two are obvious... But West Coast fans should be excited to see that the Pac 12 lives on.
Note: These are the conferences that the players played in during their final year of college football, not necessarily where their alma mater has moved to now in the crazy landscape of the NCAA.
Conference | # of Players | % of Roster |
|---|---|---|
AAC | 2 | 3.77 |
ACC | 2 | 3.77 |
Big 12 | 7 | 13.21 |
Big Ten | 11 | 20.75 |
Conference USA | 2 | 3.77 |
MAC | 2 | 3.77 |
Mountain West | 2 | 3.77 |
NCAA - Independent | 2 | 3.77 |
Pac 12 | 6 | 11.32 |
SEC | 10 | 18.87 |
Sun Belt | 1 | 1.89 |
FCS/Non-D I | 6 | 11.32 |
Who is reunited with a former college teammate in Silver & Black?
The power of friendship is strong in Las Vegas.
At the University of Arizona, Treydan Stukes and Dalton Johnson were teammates in the secondary. Both players were selected in the middle rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft, and off the field, they are apparently best friends as well.
The Georgia connection is strong in Las Vegas, as Eric Stokes played Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker for the Bulldogs. Dean and Walker played with each other for several years, and they also crossed paths with Brock Bowers for a season in Athens as well.
Recent free agent additions Jalen Nailor and Connor Heyward were teammates at Michigan State for several seasons, as they carried the Spartans' passing attack. New practice squad member Cody White was also in East Lansing with Nailor and Heyward for several years.
Dont'e Thornton Jr. and Jermod McCoy spent a season dueling in practice at Tennessee. The former Volunteers wide receiver and cornerback made each other better while playing in the SEC, and now, they aim to do the same as Raiders.
Also, Thornton Jr. played with Jackson Powers-Johnson at Oregon for two seasons before the latter transferred down to Knoxville.
There are a handful of other practice squad connections, too. Fernando Mendoza and Roman Hemby played together at Indiana, Kwity Paye and Cameron McGrone were teammates at Michigan, and Atonio Mafi and Gary Smith III battled in the trenches at UCLA practices for a season.
From which state does each player on the Raiders' roster hail?
Where did these players play their high school football?
State | # of Players |
|---|---|
Texas | 7 |
California | 6 |
Florida, Georgia, New York | 4 |
Mississippi | 3 |
Arizona, Iowa, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Utah | 2 |
Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia | 1 |
At which position does Las Vegas have the most money invested in for 2026?
How are the Raiders allocating their money?
Note: If the math doesn't add up to $301.2 million or 100% here, that's because the dead cap formula couldn't be calculated before the practice squad was financially finalized. Christian Wilkins and Geno Smith still cost a lot!
Position | Combined Cap Hit for 2026 | % of Salary Cap |
|---|---|---|
QB | $15,514,181 | 5.15 |
RB | $12,178,476 | 4.04 |
WR | $15,439,725 | 5.13 |
TE | $9,510,374 | 3.16 |
IOL | $22,011,477 | 7.31 |
OT | $26,781,308 | 8.89 |
DE | $57,298,916 | 19.02 |
DT | $14,640,572 | 4.86 |
LB | $20,978,052 | 6.96 |
CB | $19,329,247 | 6.42 |
SAF | $17,980,482 | 5.97 |
ST | $8,232,500 | 2.73 |
IR | $7,461,800 | 2.48 |
Who was the Raiders' QB the year each player on the roster was born?
How about this for a time capsule?
Current Raiders Player | Year | Raiders Starting QB |
|---|---|---|
Kirk Cousins | 1988 | Jay Schroeder |
Adam Butler, Matt Gay | 1994 | Jeff Hostetler |
A.J. Cole, Foley Fatukasi, Kolton Miller | 1995 | Jeff Hostetler |
Taron Johnson, Ian Thomas | 1996 | Jeff Hostetler |
Maxx Crosby | 1997 | Jeff George |
Jeremy Chinn, Patrick Johnson, Malcolm Koonce, Aidan O'Connell, Kwity Paye | 1998 | Donald Hollas |
Thomas Booker IV, Connor Heyward, Dylan Laube, Tristin McCollum, Jalen Nailor, Segun Olubi, Isaiah Pola-Mao, Eric Stokes, Alex Ward, Dareke Young | 1999 | Rich Gannon |
Spencer Burford, Nakobe Dean, Jonah Laulu, Tyler Linderbaum, Darrell Luter Jr., Atonio Mafi, Quay Walker | 2000 | Rich Gannon |
Tommy Eichenberg, Tonka Hemingway, Michael Mayer, JJ Pegues, Darien Porter, Caleb Rogers, Treydan Stukes, Tre Tucker | 2001 | Rich Gannon |
Jack Bech, Malik Benson, Brock Bowers, DJ Glaze, Charles Grant, Cody Lindenberg, Trey Zuhn III | 2002 | Rich Gannon |
Ashton Jeanty, Dalton Johnson, Fernando Mendoza, Jackson Powers-Johnson, Mike Washington Jr. | 2003 | Rich Gannon |
Zeke Masses | 2004 | Kerry Collins |
Jermod McCoy | 2005 | Kerry Collins |
Alright, it's gotten a little too weird. That's my cue to get out of here. Check back in tomorrow for some more mainstream content about the Silver and Black. In the meantime, I appreciate you all letting me nerd out about this new-look Raiders roster.
And I am frightened that in just a year or two, we'll have players in the building who weren't alive during the JaMarcus Russell draft. But I digress. Carry on!
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