With just under a month until training camp kicks off for the Las Vegas Raiders ahead of the 2026 NFL season, Klint Kubiak's team has too many important and downright fascinating storylines to keep track of. It's an exciting time to be a fan of the Silver and Black, and training camp will be very eventful.
As with any team that struggled tremendously the year prior, the Raiders figure to have no shortage of key competitions during camp and the preseason. But one unheralded position battle is the one at the bottom of the defensive end room, as the pecking order needs to be sorted out there.
Players like Tyree Wilson and Charles Snowden have comprised the end of this group for a few years, but with both of them now gone, that fifth edge rusher spot is wide open in Las Vegas. And UDFA Cian Slone may actually be the frontrunner for the job. He just needs to show out in late summer.
Cian Slone has a world of opportunity in front of him at Las Vegas Raiders training camp
Slone came to the Raiders this spring as an undrafted free agent out of North Carolina State. This will remind the fanbase of Drake Thomas, another Wolfpack defender who once starred for Las Vegas in the offseason, but was wrongfully discarded before starring and winning a Super Bowl elsewhere.
In college, Slone was a bit up and down. During his first two seasons in the Mountain West at Utah State, he tallied 9.5 sacks, 16.0 tackles for loss and 77 total tackles. In one season in the ACC at NC State, his numbers dropped to just 1.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss. But he did notch 61 tackles.
He thrived more at Utah State, playing out of both a 3 and 2-point stance, whereas at NC State, he almost exclusively stood up pre-snap. Perhaps the jump in competition accounts for his lowered production, but Slone was still a great run defender at NC State. He improved in that facet every year.
His pass-rush win-rates in college of 12.9% (2023), 11.5% (2024) and 8.9% (2025) leave plenty to be desired. But Slone was still considered a draftable prospect, especially after a strong Senior Bowl, and he was a priority UDFA for the Raiders. And word is that he's impressed thus far in Las Vegas.
With Maxx Crosby, Kwity Paye, Malcolm Koonce and rookie third-rounder Keyron Crawford certainly ahead of him on the depth chart, Slone will be vying for the fifth spot in the room. So, he'll need to shine on special teams and beat out Brennan Jackson and Jahfari Harvey for a spot on the 53.
That may be tough for a 6-foot-3, 239-pound edge rusher, as Slone is considered both short and light to play the position in the NFL. But he makes up for this with a white-hot motor, incredible quickness, pass-rush savvy, supreme effort in the run game and an explosive mean streak.
Cian Slone predicted to make Las Vegas Raiders' 53-man roster
According to The Athletic's Sam Warren, Slone is well on his way to sneaking onto the opening day roster. In his latest projection, Warren put Slone on the 53-man team ahead of Jackson and Harvey. He explained that Slone still has work to do, but he has made his mark with the new staff already.
"The trade of Tyree Wilson and the release of Charles Snowden this offseason could provide an opportunity for another pass rusher to latch on. If one does, Slone seems a likely candidate," Warren wrote. "The undrafted rookie impressed in offseason practices and received opportunities to work with veteran groups in team periods, which none of his other peers did. Whether he can provide special teams value will be the true measure of if he can stick, but he might be the likeliest UDFA to make the roster."
Special teams are always critical for bottom-of-the-roster players. Luckily for Slone, he has shown promise on kick coverage and played 204 college special teams snaps, with experience on punt return, kick return and FG/XP block as well.
It is all out in front of Slone. After playing with the veterans during the offseason program, he can use training camp as his personal launchpad to the 53-man roster if he plays his cards right. The Raiders need a fifth edge rusher, and Slone can make sure they don't go out of the building to find it.
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