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The Las Vegas Raiders made a couple of moves to bolster their practice squad, adding two players who could eventually be on the 53-man roster. They also waived a couple of youngsters who could draw interest from other clubs. Raiders Daily assesses the team’s latest roster moves and where the newcomers could fit on the depth chart.
Even with six linebackers on the active roster, the Raiders aren’t done stacking players at the position. They added Brian Asamoah II to the group.
Asamoah is a notable addition because he’s a 2022 third-round pick out of Oklahoma who was a core special teamer with the Minnesota Vikings. Over the last three seasons, he’s played at least 61 percent of snaps as part of the special teams unit.
In Minnesota, Asamoah didn’t crack the starting rotation, appearing in 46 outings as a backup linebacker.
Nonetheless, the fourth-year pro has a pathway to see the field with the Raiders defense. He’s more athletic and agile than any of the other linebackers on the roster. At 25, the 6-foot, 226-pounder is younger than Germaine Pratt (29), Elandon Roberts (31), Devin White (27) and Jamal Adams (29).
If the Raiders want to add youth and speed to the second level of their defense, they could call up Asamoah to the main roster. Because of his size, quickness and coverage skills, he’s best suited to play weak-side linebacker and attack the pocket as a blitzer.
Read: NFL Week 1 Predictions: Projecting Every Game on Week 1 Schedule
In addition to Brian Asamoah, Las Vegas added Jeff Driskel to the practice squad. Las Vegas Review-Journal‘s Vincent Bonsignore believes the 10th-year signal-caller could be the team’s emergency quarterback on game day.
FYI: To be the emergency QB on game day, that QB has to be on the 53-man roster. So we'll see how the @Raiders handle that assignment (could be they just dress two QBs) https://t.co/GgPDpLZz2s
— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) September 1, 2025
As Bonsignore noted, the Raiders would have to elevate Driskel to the active roster for him to serve as the emergency quarterback. If they do, it’s an indication the coaches don’t trust rookie sixth-rounder Cam Miller to fill in for Geno Smith and Kenny Pickett if neither of the two is available to take the field.
After a solid preseason debut, Miller struggled with a costly turnover and inaccuracies. Still, Las Vegas felt he’s worth developing on the practice squad, but Driskel is more trustworthy in a difficult in-game spot coming off the sideline due to his experience.
Read: Raiders Roster To-Do List In Preparation for 2025 Season Opener
To make room for Brian Asamoah and Jeff Driskel, the Raiders waived Trey Taylor and undrafted rookie Matt Jones.
As a rookie last year, Taylor suited up for nine games and played [57...
