The Las Vegas Raiders had some difficult decisions to make as the deadline for submitting their initial 53-man roster loomed last week. While most of the players who landed on the team were expected, there were a handful of surprising inclusions and omissions.
Most notably, the team opted to get rid of sixth-round rookie wide receiver Tommy Mellott, as he did not even come back on the practice squad. 2024 undrafted free agent center Will Putnam also snuck onto the roster after flying under the radar during the offseason.
End-of-roster players from previous regimes also had a hard time finding their footing on a new-look Raiders team, as Thayer Munford Jr. and Sincere McCormick were both waived and found new homes. Safety Thomas Harper suffered a similar fate late week but quickly found a new home as well.
Former Raiders safety Thomas Harper claimed by Lions
On Friday, reporter Brad Galli announced that Harper was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Lions after parting ways with the Raiders. This means he will be on the 53-man roster for the Lions' season opener against the Green Bay Packers.
Harper missed the last two preseason games for an undisclosed reason, but he was still included in Las Vegas' initial 53-man team. However, he was quickly waived last week as the Raiders brought in former Philadelphia Eagles safety Tristin McCollum to take his place.
While Harper did not show his best stuff in the preseason opener against the Seattle Seahawks, he did enough last year to warrant a spot on the team. However, Pete Carroll and John Spytek have a specific physical build that they like in defensive backs, and Harper fell outside of that.
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Still, he played 191 defensive snaps last season and another 265 on special teams. His Pro Football Focus grade of 78.6 was the 15th-best in the league out of 171 qualifying safeties, so he clearly made an impact for the Raiders.
It would have been ideal for him to sneak through waivers and return to the practice squad. But with the team only carrying four safeties and Terrell Edmunds expected to be a game-day call-up until Lonnie Johnson Jr. returns from injury, there really was no role for Harper in Las Vegas.
He'll be joining other Raiders castoffs in the Detroit secondary with cornerbacks Amik Robertson and Rock Ya-Sin. Harper will surely be looking to revitalize his NFL career once again, but this time, with an NFC contender.