Raiders Mailbag: With several young, promising defensive backs, who gets left off 53-man roster on cutdown day?
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 7: Decamerion Richardson #25 of the Las Vegas Raiders warms up prior to an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos at Allegiant Stadium on December 07, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images) | Getty ImagesWe're about ready to put a bow on the Las Vegas Raiders' 2026 training camp and preseason, which means the regular season is right around the corner! Get excited, but we also have one more preseason game and the NFL's cutdown day coming next week. So, this week's mailbag will have a heavy emphasis on the roster and guys who are on the bubble. Let's get to it!
Q: For cut-down day, Greedy Vance has practiced and played well. Hezekiah Masses and Decamerion Richardson have been about the same.Jermod McCoy is in recovery but not as good as those two yet.Which corners and safeties are among the 53?
A: This is a tough one, and cornerback was one of the hardest decisions to make on my latest 53-man roster prediction, which was written and published before Thursday night's game against the Texans. I had Vance, Masses and McCoy making the team while Richardson gets cut. But that was mainly because we hadn't seen Richardson play in a while, and he had a good outing in Houston, giving up just one catch for three yards on two targets, per Pro Football Focus.
This is a good problem to have, but the Raiders have a handful of young, talented corners where one of them likely isn't going to be on the 53-man roster. I think the ideal situation is that Richardson continues to play well in the final preseason game and enough to catch another team's eye, so John Spytek can flip him for a draft pick, another defensive tackle or wide receiver. Granted, a player-for-player swap doesn't help get the roster down to 53 guys, but there's plenty of fat to trim at those two positions.
Then, it's a matter of whether the coaching staff wants to keep five or six corners. It feels like Vance is the sixth, and as much as I'd like to see him make the team, the defense already has a handful of nickel options. Taron Johnson is the starter, Treydan Stukes can play there too, and Jeremy Chinn is the big nickel. Plus, Masses has gotten some run at covering the slot, and it wouldn't be surprising to see McCoy get a shot there at some point, too.
It comes down to whether the organization thinks Vance can clear waivers and is willing to re-sign on the practice squad or not. Other teams are watching the preseason too, so they could claim him if they need a nickel, and he might want to try his luck somewhere else if it's not working out in Vegas. Maybe Vance could get put on the trade block too, but it's hard to sell a former undrafted free agent who spent the majority of last season on the practice squad and isn't going to make the 53-man this year.
My last thought on this is admittedly a little bit out there. But if the Raiders don't think McCoy will play very much this season anyway, then they could use his knee as an excuse to stash him on injured reserve for a redshirt year". I don't like that option because it guarantees the fourth-round pick won't see the field after missing all of last year, and I'd like to see him play at some point this fall. However, it is something the club could do to keep all of its young corners
Q: If DJ Glaze continues to get beat on the edge, do you think Klint Kubiak would move Charles Grant to RT? Why waste him as a backup? Or is Trey Zuhn III really looking like the solution at RT? I just don't think Glaze is the answer unless they camp out a tight end next to him. Do you?
A: Glaze was in street clothes for the Texans game, so that's a pretty good sign he's going to be the starting right tackle to begin the season. I thought Grant would have a chance to compete for the job, but that never happened. I'm not sure why, but he's stuck at left tackle throughout the summer. Maybe Grant wasn't comfortable on the right edge, and he only played on the blind side in college. Some guys can make that switch seamlessly; others can't get the footwork down after doing it in the opposite direction for so long.
At this point, it seems like the 2025 third-rounder is the succession plan for Kolton Miller, or at least one of the options to be Miller's long-term replacement, because Zuhn has been getting the reps at right tackle with the second-team offense.
I'm skeptical of Glaze at tackle, but I have no choice but to give him the benefit of the doubt heading into the campaign. Clearly, Rick Dennison thinks he can get the job done or is the best option, and Dennison has forgotten more about offensive line play than I know. Hopefully, good coaching is all Glaze needs.
Q: I thought Jordan Meredith looked terrible at center, per usual, against the Texans. Do you think Kubiak might try Trey Zuhn III there to be a backup?
A: I definitely agree that Meredith had a bad game against the Cardinals, but I thought he played alright this week. For what it's worth, PFF gave him a decent 67.3 grade overall and didn't have him on the hook for any pressures on 22 snaps in pass protection.
That being said, I recently mentioned that I don't think Meredith will get traded to maintain some depth on the interior offensive line. However, that was before his rough outing against the Cardinals, and our Marcus Johnson recently got a scoop that Meredith is on the trade block. So, my read on that situation was clearly off, and keep your eyes peeled for a potential deal next week.
If Meredith isn't on the roster, then yes, Zuhn will likely be the backup center. He played there a bit at Texas A&M last year and has reportedly gotten some run at center (and just about every offensive line position, for that matter) during training camp.
Quick break for an announcement from my friends at Homage. They've restocked their Raiders' Starter pullover and satin jackets. Pictures are in the slider below and follow this link for the pullover and this one for the satin jacket.
Q: Do you think Malcolm Koonce could get cut? He just disappears. I don't know if No. 50 plays the same position, but he looks like he has some juice and tackles. The same with Jahfari Harvey.
A: Koonce isn't getting cut because he'd be a $10.5 million dead cap hit with only $510k in savings, per Over The Cap. If anything, he'll get traded because that would slice the dead cap hit in half. But I also wouldn't base this decision off of two preseason games. Keep in mind that Koonce has only played 27 snaps while Harvey has 44 against lower competition, which is why the latter is standing out more at this stage.
Segun Olubi (No. 50) definitely had a good game in Houston, but he's an off-ball linebacker and doesn't play the same position as Koonce.
Q: Is the 3/4 D the problem stopping the run or just the weakness of our tackles?
A: No, it's not a scheme issue; the defensive tackles are just getting their butts kicked. I pounded the table so hard for Kayden McDonald in the draft because the Raiders have a collection of defensive tackles who are good athletes to generate some pressure but leave a lot to be desired when it comes to stopping the run. That being said, I thought Foley Fatukasi provided some encouragement against the run versus the Texans.
Ultimately, just like with wide receiver, I think John Spytek and Co. are going to see if any of the young defensive tackles can step up this season. And if no one rises to the occasion, the position will be one of the biggest needs in the offseason. Granted, the defense could probably still use another interior lineman if only one guy steps up this year.
I'm on board with taking the lumps for this season and seeing if anyone rises to the occasion. If another young player at either position comes available on the waiver wire after cutdown day, then I'd be up for adding them and seeing if they can be part of the solution. It'd just have to be someone in their early to mid 20s, and I'd prefer to not give up any draft picks in a trade or anything like that. A player-for-player deal or the sixth-seventh-round swap would get my stamp of approval, but nothing too significant.
A: On the topic, both positions are looking pretty strong in this year's draft class! The whole class is getting a lot of love right now, and I've read that the NFL is pretty high on it. A good example of that is A.J. Brown getting traded for a 2028 first-round pick this offseason.
At wide receiver, everyone is going to be focused on Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith, and rightfully so. That guy is going to be one of the best wideout prospects in a while, and especially if the quarterback class lives up to the hype, the Raiders could be in a good spot to get Smith. But if he's out of reach, keep tabs on Texas' Cam Coleman, Indiana's Nick Marsh (Michigan State transfer) and Charlie Becker, Alabama's Ryan Coleman-Williams and Clemson's Bryant Wesco Jr.
At defensive tackle, I'm a huge fan of Will Echoles from Ole Miss, and he'd certainly help solve the run defense problem in Las Vegas. Oklahoma's David Stone has some really intriguing traits, but he's a bit more of a projection with only a handful of starts heading into the season. I also like A'Mauri Washington from Oregon, and Miami's Ahmad Moten and Justin Scott to give you a few names to watch in College Football this year.
A: We are on the exact same page. I'm encouraged that Hemingway is having a good camp and interested to see how he plays with a bigger opportunity this season, but I have no idea why he's getting the shoo-in starter treatment. I wish I had a better answer, but I guess he's just been the best defensive tackle (which isn't saying much) in training camp and the coaching staff has seen enough from him.
There were a few guys I was surprised to see in street clothes on Thursday night, like Spencer Burford and Glaze, to name a couple more.
A: I sense an agenda going on here, LOL!
I've loved what Washington has done in the first two preseason games, as he's proven to be the home-run hitter he was drafted to be. I still think he's probably going to be an eight- to 10-touch-per-game type of guy with the hopes that he breaks one or two of those for an explosive play. But make no mistake about it, Jeanty is still going to be the feature back.
Again, I love what Washington brings as a second option in the backfield. However, he's had 15 rushes for 119 rushing yards to average 7.9 per carry during the preseason, and over 70 percent of his production has come on two carries. That means he's averaging 2.5 ypc if you remove the pair of explosive runs, which isn't consistent enough to take over as the feature back.
I hate that I have to pour cold water on the Mike Washington Jr. hype, but Jeanty isn't in danger of losing his job because of two exciting plays in the preseason.
That'll do it for this week's mailbag. Thank you all for submitting questions and, as your weekly reminder, if you'd like to have your questions answered in a future column, tweet them at me,@MHolder95, email them toSBPQuestions1@gmail.comor look for our weekly call for questions on the site. The latter will continue to publish on Thursdays.