The Las Vegas Raiders quickly turned over a significant part of their roster this offseason. The new leadership tandem of general manager John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll did not want to be bound to so many of the team's players from a four-win campaign in 2024.
While they did re-sign or extend players like Maxx Crosby, Malcolm Koonce and Adam Butler, they parted ways with notable defenders like Robert Spillane, Tre'Von Moehrig, Nate Hobbs and more. As a result, the defensive line is largely intact, but the secondary is almost completely unrecognizable.
Except for cornerback Darnay Holmes, who somehow made the cut as the new regime came to Las Vegas. The Raiders signed him at the beginning of last season, and after filling in as the slot cornerback in Hobbs' absences, he landed another one-year deal with the team in free agency.
Raiders cornerback Darnay Holmes becoming possible cut candidate
Relying on Holmes to be the full-time starter in the slot, however, worried a good portion of Raider Nation. He certainly has a sound understanding of Patrick Graham's defense, but Pro Football Focus gave him a 54.1 overall grade in 2024, which ranked 165th out of 222 qualifying cornerbacks.
He also gave up a passer rating of 105.3 when targeted, and had a missed tackle rate of 9.1%, according to Pro Football Reference. While these numbers are not good by any means, he was a solid run defender, and the new regime clearly saw something in him.
However, through the first week or so of training camp, it is becoming more and more obvious that Holmes could be the first notable player that the Raiders cut. There have been no reports that Holmes is underperforming, but it seems like he has had a hard time standing out.
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Throughout the offseason, Carroll and the staff have been putting safeties like Jeremy Chinn, Lonnie Johnson Jr. and Thomas Harper in the slot. This could be purely experimental, but then reports came piling in about the emergence of 5-foot-9 cornerback Greedy Vance Jr., who has played in the slot.
Holmes seems like he now has an uphill battle to make the roster, and if he does, it may not be with the expectation that he has a significant role. With five years and 70 games of NFL experience under his belt, he is the most tenured cornerback on the Raiders' roster.
But Carroll has made it clear that nothing else matters but winning the competition at your position. It does not sound like Holmes has necessarily done anything wrong, but the reports would indicate that he has fallen behind at slot corner and, as a result, could be the first significant name to go this offseason.