Silver And Black Pride
An early (and fluid) prediction on who will make the roster with veterans reporting to Las Vegas on Tuesday
Las Vegas Raiders football is back as the entire team has reported to training camp with the veterans joining the rookies in Las Vegas on Tuesday. While it’s early and there will be a lot of new information between now and cutdown day, it’s time for the initial Raiders’ 53-man roster projection for the 2025 season.
With the preseason and practice reports from training camp still to come, the predictions below will be very fluid and likely see several changes between now and the end of August. But this at least provides a baseline for where players stand at the beginning of the summer.
For simplicity, it’s assumed that 25 offensive players, 25 defensive players and three specialists will make the roster in this exercise. That also can change as training camp goes on, as the coaching staff may decide to keep a different number of players at each position than what’s listed below.
To account for that, any player who has a star (*) next to their name means their status could change based on how many roster spots the coaching staff is allocating to that position. In other words, a ‘backup’ with a star is a ‘cut’ projection if the Raiders keep one fewer player than what’s listed below and vice versa.
Starter: Geno Smith
Backups: Aidan O’Connell, Cam Miller*
Cut: no one
Unless someone else gets signed, Las Vegas took the drama out of the quarterback battle by letting Carter Bradley go ahead of training camp. Now, the only question is if Pete Carroll wants to take advantage of the emergency quarterback rule by rostering three QBs, or if Carroll just opts to stash Miller on the practice squad.
Starter: Ashton Jeanty
Backups: Raheem Mostert, Sincere McCormick, Dylan Laube*
Cut: Zamir White, Chris Collier
The top three running backs seem pretty set in stone, at least at this point. To me, the biggest difference between Laube and White is that the former offers more on special teams than the latter. The second-year pro also can contribute as a pass-catcher out of the backfield. However, he’s definitely on the chopping block, too.
Starters: Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker, Dont’e Thornton Jr.
Backups: Jack Bech, Tommy Mellott, Collin Johnson*
Cut: Alex Bachman*, Shedrick Jackson, Phillip Dorsett, Ketron Jackson Jr., Kyle Philips, Seth Williams
Wide receiver is an interesting position when it comes to how many roster spots are actually available, as it could be anywhere from five to seven. If the Raiders do keep six wideouts, the 6-foot-6 Johnson has unique size and might be able to distinguish himself as a decent red zone threat.
Starter: Brock Bowers
Backups: Michael Mayer, Ian Thomas
Cut: Justin Shorter*, Qadir Ismail, Carter Runyon, Pat Conroy
How many tight ends Las Vegas rosters will depend on how many wideouts make...
