The Las Vegas Raiders were excited about their safety room heading into the 2025 NFL season. Even though they let Tre'Von Moehrig and Marcus Epps walk, they retained the ever-promising Isaiah Pola-Mao, and they went out and got Jeremy Chinn and Lonnie Johnson Jr. in free agency.
Even returner Chris Smith II was showing glimpses during the offseason program, so it seemed like the room had both talent and depth. But Johnson broke his fibula just before the preseason games started during a mock game at Allegiant Stadium, which landed him on the Injured Reserve.
To replace him, the Raiders added Terrell Edmunds and Tristin McCollum, but neither has filled the void left by Johnson, who was having a tremendous offseason in Las Vegas. Smith has also fallen out of the rotation completely, so things were a bit bleak for the back half of Las Vegas' defense.
Safety Lonnie Johnson Jr. expected to make Raiders debut vs. Broncos
However, Johnson recently had his 21-day practice window opened, and Pete Carroll confirmed during his Wednesday media availability that he would make his season debut in Week 10 on Thursday Night Football against the Denver Broncos.
Johnson should immediately have a role, as the Raiders finally stopped utilizing Pola-Mao exclusively as a free safety in recent weeks. McCollum played a season-high 56 snaps in Week 9, as he and Pola-Mao floated between playing free safety, the slot, in the box, and even on the defensive line.
With defensive coordinator Patrick Graham now back to utilizing Pola-Mao as the versatile chess piece that he is, that opens up plenty of opportunities for Johnson to play as the high safety when Pola-Mao, Chinn and McCollum are rotating and moving around.
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When asked about Johnson's season debut coming on a short week, Carroll made sure to clarify that they'll be careful. But it seems like the veteran coach also wants to ramp him up and make sure that he is ready to be a significant contributor sooner rather than later.
"We gotta get him back out there. We just gotta get him on the field and get him going, it's been quite a while for him," Carroll said. "This'll be his first full-speed live action, and we'll look after him and make sure we're monitoring him well, see how he's handling things. But we're really excited to have him back. This is unfortunate, that it's a short week, and all that, for him, but in the coming weeks, I expect him to be a big factor."
Both the team and fan base should be thrilled to have Johnson back, as he should be a stabilizing presence out there for the Raiders' defense. He'll presumably take Jakobi Meyers' spot on the active roster, and while he may not have that immediate kind of impact, hopefully, it's not long until he does.