The Las Vegas Raiders made plenty of changes to their defense this offseason, and the turnover has left the fan base feeling nervous about the secondary. The saving grace, however, is that new head coach Pete Carroll is a known defensive back guru who has always gotten the best out of the unit.
Still, all five starters from last year's secondary are gone. Tre'Von Moehrig, Nate Hobbs and Marcus Epps left in free agency, Jack Jones was waived before the draft, and Jakorian Bennett was traded just before the preseason.
Carroll has a known criteria for bringing defensive backs into the building, as he likes tall, fast and physical players. However, the kicker is that Carroll is a sucker for players with 32-inch arms or longer, and he just got rid of another player who did not fit this criterion.
Raiders waive S Thomas Harper after recent waiver claim
On Thursday, the Raiders claimed safety Tristin McCollum on the waiver wire from the Philadelphia Eagles. Las Vegas had to make a corresponding move, so they chose to waive safety Thomas Harper, who missed the final two preseason games with an undisclosed injury.
Harper played college football at Notre Dame and joined the Raiders around this time last year as a waiver claim. He spent the preseason with division rival Los Angeles Chargers after going undrafted in 2024, but carved out a solid role in Las Vegas as a rookie.
However, despite playing 191 defensive snaps and 265 on special teams, he was the odd man out in the safety room. It should come as no surprise, then, that Harper's arms are just 29 and 3/8-inch long, making him less than ideal for what Carroll is trying to build.
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Despite recording a Pro Football Focus grade of 78.6 in 2024, which ranked 15th out of a qualifying 171 safeties, Carroll is seemingly shutting the door on his Raiders tenure. There is a chance he could be brought back on the practice squad, but he may have a market for himself on the waiver wire.
Now, only Chris Smith II and Isaiah Pola-Mao remain from last year's safety room, and Decamerion Richardson, Kyu Blu Kelly and Darnay Holmes are the lone holdovers at cornerback. It has been a complete overhaul for Carroll and John Spytek, though many thought the secondary was a strength.
This move was lost in the shuffle as the McCollum signing and Micah Parsons trade took up the bulk of the spotlight in Raider Nation, but losing Harper is not exactly ideal. Hopefully, McCollum and Terrell Edmunds can provide a spark for the back end of the safety room.