The Las Vegas Raiders, at long last, have started to treat the remainder of the 2025 NFL season like a tryout for next year. Pete Carroll was clinging to the fact that the Raiders had not been mathematically eliminated, still trying to "win now" in a season where the writing has long been on the wall.
But no longer. In Week 13's matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers, Carroll finally made the plunge to let rookie third-rounder Caleb Rogers start at right guard in place of an injured Jordan Meredith, and he rotated him with young practice squad guard Atonio Mafi.
At cornerback, he let rookie third-rounder Darien Porter rotate in with Kyu Blu Kelly, and he finally elevated slot cornerback Greedy Vance Jr. again on game day. So, with a 2-10 record and being officially eliminated from playoff contention, the youth movement in Las Vegas is finally underway.
Raiders sign Greedy Vance Jr. to active roster, release Jamin Davis
In step with that, following Sunday's 31-14 loss, the Raiders made a handful of roster moves. They signed Vance Jr., who was a preseason star in Las Vegas, to the active roster, and they made room for him by waiving Jamin Davis. They also released kicker Greg Joseph from the practice squad.
Davis, a 2021 first-round pick by the Washington Commanders, joined the Raiders' practice squad in early October. This came after being waived by the Commanders, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets in recent seasons. Now, he's been cut again, this time by Las Vegas.
Joseph's release also indicates that Daniel Carlson's job as the Raiders' kicker is safe, at least for now. However, the biggest move of this bunch was promoting Vance Jr. to the active roster, as he more than proved that he can contribute during his slate of exhibition games and limited action.
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Vance's role as a slot cornerback may not ever be large on Las Vegas' defense, considering strong safety Jeremy Chinn spends a lot of time in the slot, but the young undrafted rookie is deserving of a chance to show the new Raiders regime that he at least deserves to be a part of their future plans.
During the preseason, Vance recorded above-average marks from Pro Football Focus in two of his three appearances, and he's fared decently in his two regular season showings. Those came in Week 9 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and just last week against Los Angeles.
He's played just 20 total snaps, 18 of which came in pass coverage, and Vance has recorded two tackles. He has also given up two catches for 31 yards, but this is such a small sample size that it is rather insignificant.
Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, as he gets more comfortable with Vance during the rest of the season, and as Vance earns his stripes at the NFL level, should be able to utilize the young player in a variety of plays, particularly on cornerback blitzes, which Vance has a knack for taking advantage of.
There's no reason for the Raiders to stop reshuffling their roster, as nothing has worked so far. They may as well take the remaining five games on their schedule to figure out what they have for next year and what the best way to move forward is.