The Las Vegas Raiders have had an ugly first half of the season as they sit at just 2-6 heading into their Week 10 matchup with the Denver Broncos. The Raiders will have their hands full on Thursday Night Football as their 7-2 divisional rivals are tied for the best record in the NFL.
While Pete Carroll has been clear about his desire to win now, the front office made a move that signaled they are more focused on the future as they traded Jakobi Meyers to the Jacksonville Jaguars at the trade deadline for a fourth and sixth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Fans are hoping that the departure of the veteran wide receiver will be the beginning of a youth movement in Las Vegas.
Entering Thursday's game, Ashton Jeanty was the only member of the Raiders' 11-player rookie class that has even played half of the offensive or defensive snaps. Additionally, the inactive list has typically been filled with first-year players. That won't be the case tonight as just two players drafted by Las Vegas are inactive, with a defensive tackle set to make his first appearance in five weeks.
Raiders rookie Tonka Hemingway activated for Thursday Night Football matchup with Broncos
The Raiders would be wise to embrace a youth movement over the final weeks of the season as the team is fourth in the AFC West, three games out of a postseason spot and seemingly going nowhere. It is clear that the focus of the franchise should be on player development instead of attempting to chase a dream that likely won't become reality.
They took a step in that direction on Thursday as they opted to have Tonka Hemingway active for the first time since Week 5, with Leki Fotu replacing him on the inactives list. The fourth-round rookie defensive tackle has appeared in just two games this season, playing a total of 25 defensive snaps and seven special teams snaps.
He figures to get an extended look in Week 10, however, as Fotu had played 71 defensive snaps, 44.1% of the team's defensive snaps, over Las Veags' past two games. The Raiders have not fully embraced a youth movement as two rookies -- defensive tackle JJ Pegues and offensive guard Caleb Rogers -- remain inactive.
The former has appeared in just two games while the latter has been inactive in every game of the season.
Elsewhere, undrafted rookie tight end Carter Runyon and fourth-year running back Zamir White round out the inactive list. Notably, Lonnie Johnson Jr. is set to make his season debut after missing the first eight games with a broken fibula suffered during training camp.
Rookie wideout Dont'e Thornton Jr. will also return to the lineup, replacing the traded Meyers, after being inactive for the first time this season in Week 9.