The Taron Johnson holdout drama is a small but gloomy cloud over an otherwise exciting offseason for the Las Vegas Raiders. And while the longtime Buffalo Bills slot cornerback bucked the youthful trend that John Spytek established this offseason, Johnson is still very much needed in 2026.
Without Johnson, the Raiders will have to scramble to fill in the nickel cornerback spot. Do they rely on an inexperienced Greedy Vance Jr.? Do they slide fifth-round rookie Dalton Johnson there? Or do they play Jeremy Chinn or Treydan Stukes there, in which case, who do they put at the safety spot?
Johnson's contract-related absence from Las Vegas OTAs isn't likely to go away until, well, he gets a new contract. And there are some silver linings to his not being there, so it is not quite time to panic yet for Raider Nation. But that time is lurking just around the corner.
Taron Johnson's absence from Las Vegas Raiders OTAs still lands fairly low on "panic meter"
Bleacher Report's Moe Moton released his "panic meter" for the six notable offseason holdouts around the league. On a scale of one to 10, Moton had Johnson's at a mere four, which was much lower than some others on this list.
"Las Vegas acquired Johnson to address a glaring need at the slot cornerback spot.Â
"In the second round of this year's draft, they selected Treydan Stukes, a slot cornerback out of Arizona. Stukes has the skill set to be the Raiders' lead nickelback for the long term, but he could bolster the team's shallow safety group while Johnson mans the slot.
"Even though the Raiders have a rookie to fill in for Johnson, they would have less flexibility without him because of needs at the nickelback and safety positions.Â
"In 2025, Johnson saw some decline in his coverage, allowing a 94.7 passer rating, though he's still the most proven and arguably the best slot defender on the Raiders' roster."
Yes, it is disconcerting not to have a player of Johnson's importance at OTAs, if for no other reason than for the distraction that his absence causes and the bad example that it sets for young players. But from a football standpoint, his not being there complicates things as well, as we discussed.
But because nothing is mandatory yet, as head coach Klint Kubiak stated last week, it is hard to panic too much. Plus, Johnson just wants more guaranteed money, and the Raiders can afford to honor that request. After all, it is probably the right thing to do after acquiring him this offseason.
Things will likely be resolved between Johnson's camp and the Las Vegas front office, and this should all be water under the bridge soon. The time to start panicking a bit, however, is if Johnson isn't at mandatory minicamp from June 9 to 11. That's when the panic meter would and should rise.
If the Raiders break for the summer without a revised deal for Johnson, not only will he be so far behind football and culture-wise in the building, but we'd be in the territory of him potentially not ever playing for the team. If Las Vegas wants him, one would think that things would be resolved by then.
And if Johnson wants to play for the Silver and Black, one would think that he'd come around as well. It'll be an interesting tug-of-war to watch play out for Raider Nation, and ideally, they find a nice common ground that both appeases him and is still team-friendly.
Until things sour and/or he starts missing mandatory practices, though, the panic meter is low but not zero for Johnson and Las Vegas, as it should be.
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