Frankly, whatever else happens during this Raiders offseason is just gravy.
They handled their top-of-line business in a way that few people expected them to, first by bringing in Pete Carroll to be their next head coach, and then by surprising most of the NFL world with a trade for Seahawks QB Geno Smith.
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So now, outside of the Draft weekend, it's probably shaping up to be a quiet spring/early summer in Las Vegas. That doesn't mean there aren't some savvy second-wave moves to be made, and the Raiders proved that Monday by bringing back cornerback Darnay Holmes. The move was first reported by Fox Sports' NFL insider Jordan Shultz.
Raiders bring back CB Darnay Holmes on a new one-year deal
Source: CB Darnay Holmes is re-signing with the #Raiders on a 1-year deal. pic.twitter.com/GklqUxWxKA
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 17, 2025
Darnay certainly wasn't a major part of the Raiders' secondary last season, but he appeared in 16 games and set some (modest) career highs in his first season with the team. During last season, he played 28% of the Raiders' defensive snaps (with 17% of their special teams snaps as well), and had one sack, 14 solo tackles, and two tackles for a loss. He also had an above-average run stop grade on Pro Football Focus, so maybe keep that one in your back pocket for when your Raiders friends aren't convinced.
It's not a whole lot, but we're still in that glorious window of time where our brains let us trust every move Pete Carroll makes, especially in the secondary. Cornerback depth never hurts, and Darnay's proven to be a reliable rotation guy – in each of the last three seasons, he's appeared in at least 15 games. And with the way Carroll's completely made over the secondary since coming on this offseason, it wouldn't be surprising if the team wasn't done there yet.
So, maybe not the most headline-grabbing move (although I sure wouldn't hate it if it was), there's always time and space to appreciate the lowkey, under-the-radar moves that help fill out the fringes of a roster. At the very least, it beats reading another mock draft.