Things are moving quickly for the Las Vegas Raiders. It feels like just yesterday that the team was wrapping up the 2026 NFL Draft, and now they've already made a batch of roster moves after the first two days of rookie minicamp.
After Saturday's practice, the second of the three that will comprise Las Vegas' rookie minicamp, the Raiders announced that they were signing Devyn Perkins, Niklas Henning, Patrick Gurd and Kamar Missouri to the active roster. This also meant they needed to free up four roster spots.
So, the Silver and Black announced the release of Matt Lauter, Layden Robinson, McClendon Curtis, and most notably, Charles Snowden. Over the last two years, Snowden has played in 31 games for the Raiders, starting 18, and was brought back this offseason. But he'll now head to the open market.
Las Vegas Raiders cut Charles Snowden, make several roster moves after rookie minicamp
It seems like Perkins, Henning, Gurd and Missouri, who were invited to minicamp in Las Vegas on a tryout basis, impressed coaches enough in the first two days to warrant a promotion to the active roster. But Snowden, after recording 3.0 sacks and five tackles for loss last year, is a surprising cut.
He has played 730 defensive snaps in the last two seasons, which is roughly a 35% snap share. Snowden was a key contributor for the Raiders' defense, but apparently, Klint Kubiak and his staff did not see what the other recent staffs in Las Vegas have.
Lauter's release is a bit shocking, but not all that surprising. Yes, he was sought out by the Raiders on the undrafted free agent market and signed quickly after the draft, and teams typically hold onto those players for a bit longer. But Gurd, another tight end, must have impressed the staff even more.
Henning, who went to college at Queens in Canada and Missouri, a UTSA product, are both offensive linemen who seemingly showed out in front of the Raiders' coaches. It makes sense, then, that they replaced linemen Curtis and Robinson, both of whom were clinging to the end of the roster anyway.
Perkins, a Las Vegas native who had a great career at Utah Tech and Southern Utah, must have put together a good few days at minicamp as well. For him to essentially supplant Snowden on the active roster means that the Raiders at least think he has an outside shot to make the team.
The defensive end/edge rusher room looks a bit different in Las Vegas than it did just a week or two ago. With Tyree Wilson getting traded, Jamin Davis being cut and Snowden now being released, the team is looking at a group of Maxx Crosby, Kwity Paye, Keyron Crawford and Malcolm Koonce.
Brennan Jackson, Jahfari Harvey and Cian Slone all figure to compete for a role on the bottom of the roster or a spot on the practice squad as well. But their path is now much clearer with Snowden out of the way.
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