Who has the edge heading into cutdown day?
With training camp and the preseason wrapped up and the NFL’s cutdown day coming on Tuesday, Silver and Black Pride takes one more stab at predicting the Las Vegas Raiders’ 53-man roster.
Quarterback
Roster: Gardner Minshew, Aidan O’Connell, Nathan Peterman
Cut: Carter Bradley
The NFLPA vetoed the rule that would have allowed a team’s emergency quarterback to be on the practice squad, meaning the Raiders will have to keep Peterman on the active roster if they want to take advantage of the third quarterback rule. It makes more sense to have the veteran be the team’s insurance policy than an undrafted rookie, but Bradley should end up on the practice squad.
Important note as teams construct their initial 53-man rosters:
NFL teams were informed that the NFLPA vetoed the revised Emergency 3rd Quarterback rule that would have allowed teams to elevate a bona fide QB from the practice squad an unlimited number of times.
So, the rule…
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 26, 2024
Running Back
Roster: Zamir White, Alexander Mattison, Ameer Abdullah, Dylan Laube
Cut: Brittain Brown, Sincere McCormick
There shouldn’t be any surprises here as neither Brown nor McCormick were very impressive in the preseason and didn’t generate much buzz during training camp. Also, Laube was reportedly taking first-team reps and while the fumble overshadowed his performance, he did have a handful of nice plays on Friday night.
Wide Receiver
Roster: Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker, DJ Turner, Tyreik McAllister
Cut: Jalen Guyton, Kristian Wilkerson, Ramel Keyton, Terrell Bynum, Tulu Griffin, Alex Bachman, Dax Milne
Had the NFLPA not vetoed the quarterback rule mentioned above, Las Vegas likely would have kept six wide receivers and Guyton has a spot on the team. But that’s not the case and McAllister offers more on special teams, especially as a returner, than Guyton. Granted, the team could just keep two quarterbacks and if that’s the case, the former Charger will still have a spot.
Tight End
Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images
Roster: Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer, Harrison Bryant, John Samuel Shenker
Cut: Zach Gentry, Cole Fotheringham
The fourth tight end spot is a toss-up as Shenker, Gentry and Fotheringham didn’t do much during the preseason. However, Shenker took the most snaps at fullback and was consistently on special teams to make a strong case to earn the spot.
Offensive Line
Roster: Kolton Miller, Cody Whitehair, Andre James, Dylan Parham, Thayer Munford Jr., Jackson Powers-Johnson, DJ Glaze, Andrus Peat, Jordan Meredith
Cut: Will Putnam, Ben Brown, Dalton Wagner, Jalen McKenzie, Corey Luciano, Clark Barrington, Andrew Coker
The biggest decision here will likely come down between Meredith and Putnam. Meredith outplayed Putnam in the preseason but the latter is a natural center while the former is more of a guard who can play center in a pinch. So, it will come down to what the coaching staff wants to prioritize when it comes to offensive line depth; the more versatile player or the more natural fit behind James.
Defensive Line
Roster: Maxx Crosby, Christian Wilkins, John Jenkins, Malcolm Koonce, Tyree Wilson, Adam Butler, Byron Young, Nesta Jade Silvera, Janarius Robinson, Charles Snowden
Cut: Elerson Smith, Matthew Butler, Marquan McCall, Noah Shannon, TJ Franklin, Ron Stone Jr., David Agoha (IPP)
When it comes to the defensive line, the Raiders are in a similar situation at defensive tackle and defensive end where it’s going to be a tough choice for that last spot. However, it’s different circumstances as the team has several ends who have made a strong case—Robinson, Snowden and Smith—but the coaching staff will have to keep an underperforming defensive tackle.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Telesco scrounge the waiver wire after cutdown day and pick up an interior defender, meaning Young and Silvera will still be on the chopping block after cutdown day.
Linebacker
Photo by Louis Grasse/Getty Images
Roster: Robert Spillane, Divine Deablo, Luke Masterson, Tommy Eichenberg, Amari Gainer
Cut: Amari Burney, Kana’i Mauga, Jackson Mitchell, DeShaun White
Gainer played his way onto the roster with an impressive preseason while Mauga struggled to give the undrafted rookie the nod. Eichenberg’s health is something to monitor, but it sounds like he’ll be back for the regular season, and, other than that, there shouldn’t be much drama at linebacker.
Cornerback
Roster: Jack Jones, Jakorian Bennett, Nate Hobbs, Decamerion Richardson, M.J. Devonshire, Brandon Facyson
Cut: Woo Governor, Sam Webb, Cornell Armstrong, Rayshad Williams, Ja’Quan Sheppard
Governor has reportedly already been cut which likely means Facyson is safe. However, Facyson hasn’t practiced much this summer with an injury. Cornerback is another position where the guys at the bottom of the depth chart aren’t safe after cutdown day as the front office might explore bringing in a veteran ahead of the season opener. Webb is another name to keep an eye on as he did have a strong showing in the Raiders’ final preseason game.
Safety
Roster: Marcus Epps, Tre’von Moehrig, Isaiah Pola-Mao, Chris Smith II
Cut: Trey Taylor, Jaydon Grant, Phalen Sanford
Taylor is the biggest surprise here as he received a good amount of hype for a seventh-round pick. However, the Jim Thorpe Award winner missed most of the preseason with an injury and wasn’t particularly good in the one game he did play in. Similar to Facyson, I could see a situation where Taylor makes the roster on Tuesday and then gets stashed on an injury list. If that’s the case, look for one of the defensive ends who is on the bubble to get cut initially and then re-sign the next day.
Specialists
Roster: Daniel Carlson, AJ Cole, Jacob Bobenmoyer
Cut: none
I have a good feeling I’m going to go three-for-three on this one.