3 Raiders players who won’t make the 53-man roster in 2024

The Las Vegas Raiders are still very much a team in transition.

They more or less admitted that by giving Gardner Minshew a two-year deal, but it's obvious that, despite some good players already on the roster, new GM Tom Telesco is going to have his work cut out for him over the next couple of seasons. That (very expensive) process has already gotten started – we'll get a better sense of what kind of team Telesco wants to make when the Draft rolls around later this month, but he also has a half-dozen tough decisions regarding cuts to make between now and Week 1.

Last year's draft class didn't get off to a good start, and with a new front office in place, those roster spots aren't exactly locks anymore.

These are the three players who won't make the 53-man roster this upcoming season.

Jakorian Bennett, CB

As a Day 2 pick (104th overall), Bennet came into Vegas with at least some expectations of contributing immediately. One year and three healthy scratches later, things don't look great. He had one of the worst overall defensive grades of anyone on the Raiders' roster, and finished the year ranked 124th out of 127 eligible cornerbacks (Pro Football Focus).

He allowed 21 catches on 32 targets for 270 yards and one touchdown; when quarterbacks threw at him, they 102.3 QB rating.

The good news for Bennett is that he's still young, and we've seen plenty of cornerbacks rebound from disastrous seasons; a lot of the non-elite guys tend to have up-and-down careers. Also, the Raiders' secondary isn't exactly bursting with top level talent: Nate Hobbs and Jack Jones had good years in 2023, but it's not like Bennett's path to starting this season is hard to find.

With all that being said, if they end up taking one of the best corner prospects in this year's draft (which they should) and Bennett has a bad preseason, the 53-man roster doesn't feel like a certainty.