Believe it or not, the first week of training camp is over for the Las Vegas Raiders. After a few days of getting acclimated, the Silver and Black will throw the pads on for Monday's practice, and in just over a week, they'll be playing in their first preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals.
Although live contact and "real football" will give the team, media and fans an even better indication of where players stack up ahead of the 2026 NFL season, the first few training camp sessions still provided a bit of clarity about how this roster could shape up by the end of the month.
With that knowledge in mind, let's take another crack at a 53-man roster prediction for the Raiders, including a 17-man practice squad. The roster is still in flux in Las Vegas in the early stages of this rebuild, but it is going young in this projection after some promising performances in the early going.
Las Vegas Raiders 53-man roster prediction after first week of training camp
Quarterback (2):
Keep: Kirk Cousins, Fernando Mendoza
Cut: Aidan O'Connell (Potential Trade)
Practice Squad: Jacob Clark
This one was tough, but the Raiders' elevation of Mendoza to the second team and his largely playing well says a lot. The decision on whether or not to keep O'Connell will be made even easier if another team comes calling for him during training camp or the preseason.
Running Back (5):
Keep: Ashton Jeanty, Mike Washington Jr., Dylan Laube, VETERAN, Connor Heyward
Cut: N/A
Practice Squad: Roman Hemby, Patrick Gurd
Las Vegas has had its eyes on too many veteran running backs lately for them not to be interested in adding a more experienced body to the room. Hemby, if he can clear waivers, and Gurd feels like ideal practice squad candidates at this point, with Washington Jr. thriving and Laube a special teams ace.
Wide Receiver (7):
Keep: Tre Tucker, Jalen Nailor, Jack Bech, Dont'e Thornton Jr., Malik Benson, Shedrick Jackson, Dareke Young
Cut: Phillip Dorsett II, Chase Roberts, Deven Thompkins
Practice Squad: Brandon Johnson, EJ Williams
The Raiders may keep more receivers around because they are looking for an answer. Giving up on any young players but cutting a guy who looks capable in Shedrick Jackson could be a tough pill to swallow, so I think Las Vegas takes advantage of versatility at other spots and keeps an extra here.
Tight end (3):
Keep: Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer, Ian Thomas
Cut: Albert Okwuegbunam, Zack Kuntz
Practice Squad: Carter Runyon
No real surprises here. With Runyon sidelined in the early going, it is hard to believe that he dethrones Thomas for that third spot. When he's back on the field, I could see it happening. But the Raiders can roll with three guys here because of fullback Connor Heyward.
Offensive line (8):
Keep: Kolton Miller, Spencer Burford, Tyler Linderbaum, Jackson Powers-Johnson, DJ Glaze, Charles Grant, Trey Zuhn III, Caleb Rogers
Cut: Jordan Meredith (Potential Trade), Dalton Wagner, Kamar Missouri, Niklas Henning, Atonio Mafi
Practice Squad: Will Putnam, Isaiah Jatta, Justin Pickett
Versatility keeps this group a bit smaller than some may expect. Jordan Meredith wouldn't clear waivers, and ideally, the Raiders could find a trade partner for him, but if not, the team could keep Putnam on the practice squad, as well as two UDFAs that they gave a lot of guaranteed money to.
Defensive tackle (5):
Keep: Adam Butler, Jonah Laulu, Thomas Booker IV, Tonka Hemingway, J.J. Pegues
Cut: Benito Jones, Gary Smith III
Practice Squad: Brandon Cleveland, Treven Ma'ae
While the top four are set, it remains to be seen what Las Vegas will do with the rest of this group. Pegues has made a handful of plays in practices this offseason, so I think that gives him the edge over Cleveland, who will be a practice squad stash. That would render Jones as unneeded.
Defensive end (5):
Keep: Maxx Crosby, Kwity Paye, Malcolm Koonce, Keyron Crawford, Cian Slone
Cut: Brennan Jackson, Jahfari Harvey
Practice Squad: Patrick Johnson
Slone is the surprise here, but it was said that he took some first-team reps during training camp practice. Johnson was a late addition to the squad, but his special teams prowess should keep him around over Jackson and Harvey.
Linebacker (5):
Keep: Quay Walker, Nakobe Dean, Cody Lindenberg, Tommy Eichenberg, Segun Olubi
Cut: Cameron McGrone, Buddy Johnson
Practice Squad: Xavian Sorey Jr.
Olubi sneaks back onto the 53-man roster here because he can probably beat out McGrone and Johnson from a special teams sense. Sorey Jr. is really the only young waiver option here who has some long-term promise, so he sticks around.
Cornerback (5):
Keep: Taron Johnson, Eric Stokes, Darien Porter, Jermod McCoy, Zeke Masses
Cut: Decamerion Richardson (Potential Trade)
Practice Squad: Caleb Offord, Greedy Vance Jr.
Richardson getting traded may be a bit too hopeful, but I still don't think he makes this roster, especially with how well Masses appears to be playing. Now, the caveat is that if McCoy ends up on IR, or if they're worried about him, they could keep Richardson and go lighter at another position.
Safety (5):
Keep: Jeremy Chinn, Treydan Stukes, Isaiah Pola-Mao, Dalton Johnson, Tristin McCollum
Cut: Devin Lafayette, Devyn Perkins
Practice Squad: Tanner Wall
This room feels fairly straightforward. McCollum sneaks on because the team went a bit light at cornerback, but he is probably the first casualty on defense if the team needs to cut someone else. Wall is an intriguing guy to keep around on the practice squad.
Specialists (3):
Keep: P A.J. Cole, K Matt Gay, LS Tyler Duzansky
Cut: LS Alex Ward
Practice Squad: K Kansei Matsuzawa
Gay probably wins it to start, and Matsuzawa sticks on the practice squad with an IPP exemption. The kicker job may end up going to someone not currently on the roster, though. Duzansky was the best long snapper in college football last season, and I think he dethrones Ward.
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