The Las Vegas Raiders have to stop the bleeding in Week 8 against the New York Jets if they want to have any chance of salvaging their season and going to the playoffs. It may be a bit early to make declarations like that, but what happens on Sunday will say quite a bit about Klint Kubiak's team.
And even though these are the early stages of a rebuild for the Silver and Black, the noise is getting pretty loud in Las Vegas. Folks are already starting to turn on Kubiak and John Spytek (which is premature, if you ask me), so a win would do a lot of good for the team, leadership and fanbase.
Ahead of the matchup, plenty is being discussed, and so much has already made headlines. But as always, some things have naturally slipped through the cracks. So, let's catch up on everything happening in Raiderland that may not have hit the mainstream.
- Raiders' final injury report for Week 8
- Quick hitters
- Jonah Laulu lands on his feet in a big way
- Las Vegas adds Bralen Trice to the practice squad
- Week 8 captains see first repeats of the year
Raiders' final injury report for Week 8
Player | Position | Injury | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
Patrick Johnson | DE | Stinger | OUT |
Carter Runyon | TE | Foot | OUT (Not activated) |
Jackson Powers-Johnson | G | Back | Questionable |
Jack Bech | WR | Forearm | Questionable |
Brock Bowers | TE | Calf | - |
Eric Stokes | CB | Illness | - |
DJ Glaze | RT | Ankle | - |
Quay Walker | LB | Chest | - |
Foley Fatukasi | DT | Shoulder | - |
Ian Thomas | TE | Shoulder | - |
Johnson being out is disappointing, but not necessarily backbreaking. He's only played a minor role on defense, and the Raiders have players who can fill in for him on special teams. Runyon has not been activated from the IR yet, and he was ruled out for Sunday's matchup.
Bech also hasn't been activated from IR yet, but the team sounded pretty optimistic that he'd play vs. the Jets. For that to happen, Las Vegas would have to clear up a roster spot before Week 8, and they are running out of time to do so. Powers-Johnson is dealing with a back injury and is questionable.
As for the rest of the Raiders, nobody else has an injury designation for this weekend's game. Stokes was added to Friday's injury report with an illness, so that is one to watch, but everyone else was a full participant during Friday's practice.
Quick hitters
Jack Jones released by 49ers
Jones wasn't having his best campaign in San Francisco, and his role was inconsistent, at best. After another poor showing in Week 7, the 49ers' first loss of the year against the Atlanta Falcons, the Raiders' old Bay Area rival cut ties with Jones, and he hasn't found a new home yet.
Raiders' NFLPA reps announced
The NFLPA is so critically important, so I'll always take a second to highlight it. A.J. Cole was named the Raiders' voting representative for the NFLPA, and Thomas Booker IV, Tyler Linderbaum and Segun Olubi were named alternates. Congrats to these gentlemen!
Broadcast crew changes at last minute for Raiders-Jets
Las Vegas' Week 8 game is set to air on FOX Sports, and on Friday afternoon, the network made a switch in the broadcasting crew. Now, Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma will be on the call for Raiders-Jets this Sunday.
Jonah Laulu lands on his feet in a big way
Laulu was waived earlier this week in a corresponding move to the team activating Dont'e Thornton Jr. And the young defensive tackle landed on his feet rather quickly, as the Tennessee Titans claimed him off waivers. There, he will join what seems to be countless other former Raiders.
But according to Jordan Schultz, there was quite the appetite for Laulu. The Jets, Colts, Patriots, Dolphins and Texans all put in claims for him as well. While some may say that Spytek should have held on to Laulu and traded him, there's a hard line between taking a free claim and giving up capital.
Las Vegas adds Bralen Trice to the practice squad
Earlier this week, in a jumble of moves, the Raiders opened up a practice squad spot. Many thought that this was for Laulu to sign back if he cleared waivers, but before things even got there, Las Vegas signed Bralen Trice to the practice squad.
Trice was a third-round pick by the Falcons in 2024, but he spent the entirety of his first two years in the league injured. He played in four games with Atlanta this season before being waived, but he was an All-Conference player in college and has great potential. Trice is certainly worth a flyer.
Week 8 captains see first repeats of the year
The Raiders announced their Week 8 captains, and for the first time, we saw a repeat. Three of them, actually. Dylan Laube, Maxx Crosby and Ashton Jeanty will be in the center circle before Sunday's matchup. Laube and Jeanty were captains in Week 2, and Crosby was a captain in Week 3.
Interestingly enough, most of Las Vegas' 22 starters have been named captains, but before those stragglers could earn the distinction, there were repeats. Kolton Miller, Jalen Nailor and Spencer Burford have not been captains, nor have the rotating starters at right guard.
On defense, Tonka Hemingway, Eric Stokes, Jeremy Chinn and the rotating starters at cornerback have not been named captains either. It'll be interesting to see if those players can earn the title in the coming weeks, or if the repeats will continue to be cycled through.
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