Who benefitted the most from Raiders’ cuts and whose status with the team is fading?
Now that cutdown day is over and the Las Vegas Raiders have their initial 53-man roster set, let’s dive into a few winners and losers from the coaching staff’s and front office’s decisions on Tuesday.
WINNER: Tyreik McAllister
Heading into last Friday night, McAllister hadn’t done much in the preseason. But the former CFL star managed to steal the show for the Silver and Black with two catches for 56 yards and a touchdown in addition to an 81-yard punt return for another score. That performance was good enough to earn the team’s final roster spot at wide receiver. Not bad for a converted running back who made an NFL 53-man roster for the first time.
LOSER: Woo Governor
Governor had a solid performance this summer to potentially earn a spot as a backup nickel corner. However, he ended up getting waived on Tuesday as safety Isaiah Pola-Mao appears to be the favorite to fill the role behind Nate Hobbs. In a way, Pola-Mao could be considered a ‘winner’ as a result. The good news for Governor is he’s expected to draw interest around the league, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, and will likely be brought back on the Raiders’ practice squad if he clears waivers.
WINNER: Jordan Meredith
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Meredith was considered to be on the bubble throughout training camp, and undrafted rookie Will Putnam had generated some steam to potentially take the veteran’s spot. However, Meredith ended up getting the nod and could be the first interior offensive lineman off the bench if Jackson Powers-Johnson—who missed the majority of camp with an injury—isn’t ready for game action at the beginning of the season.
LOSER: Brittain Brown
It’s been three years since the Raiders drafted Brown and he hasn’t recorded a single offensive snap during the regular season, only participating on special teams in six games during his rookie season. That won’t change anytime soon as the former seventh-round pick was waived by the club on cutdown day. This will likely end his tenure in Las Vegas and potentially in the NFL as a whole.
WINNER: Janarius Robinson
It wasn’t surprising to see Robinson land on the 53-man roster as he earned the spot during the preseason. He was the team’s best defensive end over the last month, outplaying Charles Snowden, Elerson Smith and even 2023 first-round pick Tyree Wilson. It has to be a confidence boost for the fourth-year pro that the coaching staff was willing to roll with him over Snowden and Smith, not even keeping either of those two as an insurance policy. Also, don’t be surprised if Robinson ends up taking Wilson’s role as the first defensive end off the bench this season…
LOSER: Matthew Butler
Similar to Brown, Butler failing to make the 53-man roster for the second year in a row might signal the end of his tenure with the Raiders. The 2022 fifth-round pick only recorded 67 defensive snaps in the regular season over the last two years, and the club opted to keep second-year pros Byron Young and Nesta Jade Silvera over him. When drafted, the Tennessee product was considered a project that could develop into a well-rounded defensive tackle, but that never came to fruition in Las Vegas.