3 storylines for the Raiders’ preseason finale vs. 49ers

On Friday night, the Las Vegas Raiders will host their former geographic rival, the San Francisco 49ers, in the final tilt of the 2024 preseason. The Raiders have announced that none of their starters will play in the game, nor will key second-stringers like Aidan O’Connell, but the 49ers will be playing their top guys. 

Like the last two preseason matchups, the result of the game is not nearly as important for the Raiders as finalizing the roster is. There are a handful of players and stories to monitor in Friday’s game, including these three major storylines:

How much will Tyree Wilson play?

Tyree Wilson will make the roster. His name has been brought up in trade rumors over the past few days, and people are even beginning to classify him as a surprise cut candidate. But that won’t happen; he will be on the 53-man roster for Week 1 barring injury. 

The cause for this bedlam has been his underwhelming performance thus far in the preseason, but he was the seventh overall pick just a year ago, and despite Tom Telesco not being the one that drafted him, the organization will give him time to develop. Let’s not forget that Malcolm Koonce took two years to blossom.

What will be telling tonight though, is how much Wilson plays. If he is held out of the game like other surefire roster players, then fans have nothing to worry about. The likelihood of him playing, however, is high.

If he only plays the first quarter or half, then the team is simply trying to get him more game reps in order for him to be comfortable playing as a rotational player in the regular season. If he is playing in the second half or well into the third quarter, then perhaps fans have something to worry about, but that is not very likely. 

Wilson could be competing with Janarius Robinson for the third edge rusher role, but despite Elerson Smith and Charles Snowden having some decent moments this preseason, Wilson will not drop below fourth on the depth chart.

If he continues to play poorly at defensive end, the team will likely give him a chance to earn a role on the interior playing defensive tackle. Regardless, he will not be off the roster unless a team comes knocking with an irresistible trade offer.

Some positions have depth battles

On Sunday, head coach Antonio Pierce named Gardner Minshew the starting quarterback, so a majority of the drama coming from Raiders camp was squashed. But there are a handful of positions on the roster that need to straighten out who their backups will be, most notably the wide receiver position, cornerback, safety, and defensive tackle.

Fans learned yesterday in an interview with coach Pierce that DJ Turner was a lock to make the roster, so that clarifies things a bit at wide receiver. But there is still a question of how many they will carry, and who they will be. With four players already locked in, that leaves room for one or two guys. The heavy favorite is Kristian Wilkerson, but I could see UDFA Ramel Keyton sneaking his way onto the roster if the team decides to keep six. Jalen Guyton is the other player who could take that sixth spot if it's available, and Terrell Bynum has been a hot name recently. 

At cornerback, the starters will be Jack Jones, Nate Hobbs, and Jakorian Bennett, and fourth-round rookie Decamerion Richardson is solidified as well. However, veteran Brandon Facyson has been absent from practice for quite some time due to injury, leaving this position up in the air a bit. Seventh-round rookie MJ Devonshire is the favorite to land the sixth spot in the room behind the aforementioned five, but UDFA Woo Governor has made a name for himself during camp as well. Both could make the roster if Facyson is not healthy, or the team could roll with five corners, as Isaiah Pola-Mao was seen taking reps in the slot at practice. Sam Webb is another name to watch for here. 

At safety, the top three guys are no-brainers: Tre’Von Moehrig, Marcus Epps, and Pola-Mao. But much of what will happen in this room will be dictated by how many safeties the Raiders elect to keep. If five are to make the squad, then second-year Chris Smith II and rookie seventh-rounder Trey Taylor will both make the roster. But if the team elects to only keep four, things get a bit hairy. Taylor was the Jim Thorpe award winner this past season at Air Force, honoring the nation’s best safety, but Smith II has a bit more experience, although not much. The team could end up keeping the player that they feel is more likely to be snagged off their practice squad in order to have both of them in the program still.

For the defensive tackle position, it is a bit murky as well. Christian Wilkins, Adam Butler, and John Jenkins will be on the roster, and that is all you can guarantee. Still, none of the younger players in the rotation have stepped up, so Friday’s game will be telling. Nesta Jade Silvera has had the most impressive preseason to my eyes, but Matthew Butler and Byron Young are firmly in the mix as well. Marquan McCall is another name to watch here, but if none of these players step up, the team may be best suited moving Tyree Wilson inside.

Which longshots have a chance?

I’ve already discussed WR Ramel Keyton and CB Woo Governor, but there are a handful of other undrafted free agents who have a legitimate chance to make the roster as well. 

QB Carter Bradley is the first name that comes to mind. He will be starting Friday’s contest against the 49ers and if he outperforms veteran Nathan Peterman, the emergency quarterback role is his. The South Alabama product is the son of former Raiders defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, so the kid does have a depth of football knowledge and acumen to draw from and could be an interesting project.

LB Amari Gainer has played his way into roster contention this preseason by putting together two impressive games. He has made several flash plays and is the third-highest graded defensive rookie by PFF through two weeks of the preseason, and the 10th-highest overall. At this point, given the injuries to Tommy Eichenberg and Amari Burney, I would be shocked if Gainer was not on the initial 53-man roster.  

IOL Will Putnam was praised by Antonio Pierce in a press conference last week for his play in training camp, and shortly thereafter made headlines by taking on both Robert Spillane and Maxx Crosby in a fight. He made it out alive somehow and is close to making the roster according to a few Raiders media members. His versatility is a major factor, as he can play both center and guard.