Looking back at the offseason that the Las Vegas Raiders just put together, it is easy to get excited about the combination of talent and youth that John Spytek added. Names like Tyler Linderbaum, Fernando Mendoza, Treydan Stukes, Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean have been at the forefront.
But even players like Jalen Nailor and Kwity Paye have gotten a lot of run, especially in Raiders circles, and the rest of the draft class has quite a bit of hype around it as well. But both fans and the media, by and large, have neglected to talk enough about the pre-free agency trade for veteran Taron Johnson.
Perhaps that is because, by all accounts, Johnson hasn't really owned being in Las Vegas yet. And neither has the team, at least not to the extent of the other additions. So Raider Nation is beginning to get worried about what is going on with Johnson, whom the team just acquired a few months ago.
Las Vegas Raiders fans are trying to make sense of silence on Taron Johnson front
A handful of fans began posting about Johnson's lack of known presence at Raiders HQ, and it began picking up steam throughout the fanbase. So, I did some digging myself, and it is a bit peculiar that Johnson is, supposedly, absent.
The Raiders have posted photos from every phase of the offseason program thus far, and Johnson isn't pictured, nor is he in the background of any. Not only that, but Las Vegas didn't post a welcome graphic for him on social media, as they did with every other offseason addition.
Johnson hasn't posted anything himself about the Raiders on his Instagram, nor has he changed his X bio, which still says he plays for the Buffalo Bills. To be fair, Johnson does follow the Raiders, Maxx Crosby and Jeremy Chinn on Instagram. But that doesn't feel like it outweighs the other evidence.
To be entirely fair to Johnson, he hasn't posted on his X account since 2021, and he doesn't appear to be super active on Instagram either. And fans speculating that he has retired are baseless in thinking that way, because no reports or announcements have been made on that front.
But his not being at voluntary minicamp or offseason practices is definitely interesting, and certainly not ideal. Outside of injured players like Crosby, the rest of the Las Vegas roster is working together at practices and getting acquainted with each other. Johnson seemingly isn't.
Now, as the name indicates, those practices are voluntary. But it is rarely a good look for a veteran not to be in attendance. When combined with the fact that the Raiders themselves haven't exactly gloated about the addition or talked about it much, it paints a potentially troublesome picture.
In recent years, the team has acquired veterans like Michael Gallup and Amari Cooper, who suddenly retired upon their arrival in Las Vegas before playing in a game. Hopefully, that is not what happens with Johnson, whom the Raiders actually gave up draft capital for, instead of just signing.
Hopefully, this is all a big nothing, and Johnson has a successful year or two with the Silver and Black. If not, then Raider Nation really snuffed this one out, and it'll go down as another disappointing, but unfortunately not too unsurprising, personnel whiff.
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