Raiders training camp eve: How many roster spots are actually available?

Who could be left out of the secondary?

A lot could happen in the safety and cornerback rooms. Depending on how many receivers, tight ends, and linemen the team chooses to keep could dictate a lot about how many guys make the roster here, or vice versa. 

Despite the cornerback battle between Brandon Facyson and Jakorian Bennett, I think that they will both make the team. This means that there are one or two spots open for more depth corners, and the common thought would be that the two drafted rookies, Decamerion Richardson and MJ Devonshire, would be the guys to make it. However, if the team signs a veteran corner like Stephon Gilmore or Adoree Jackson, that could change things drastically.

A veteran presence could make Facyson expendable or it could keep someone like Devonshire off the active roster. However, as it stands now, I predict that both rookie corners will make the 53-man roster. Unless an undrafted free agent like Woo Governor or Ja’Quan Sheppard is leaps and bounds ahead on special teams, these two will join Facyson, Bennett, Nate Hobbs and Jack Jones on opening day.

Much like the cornerback room, it is a bit of a mystery exactly how many safeties the team will keep. Because of how many snaps Tre’Von Moehrig and Marcus Epps played last season, it is possible that the team only keeps four on the active roster.

Isaiah Pola-Mao has done enough to be solidified on the team, which means that rookie Trey Taylor and second-year Chris Smith II will battle for the last safety spot. Taylor won the Jim Thorpe Award this past season as a member of the Air Force Academy, and to me, has way more upside than Smith II does. Taylor should be the fourth safety to make the team, but both will make it if the team chooses to keep five.