I’m channeling the 1970s rockstar in me and doing my best Alice Cooper impression by signing you all a non-auditory tune: “Schoooools out for summer!”
It’s graduation season, and the Las Vegas Raiders concluded mandatory minicamp and their entire spring practice session this week. So, it’s finally summer, and we have some downtime before training camp gets going. On that note, let’s get to this week’s mailbag!
Q: What do players do between minicamp and training camp, especially the rookies trying to
make a team?
A: You alluded to this in your question; it definitely depends on what each individual’s status on the roster is.
A veteran who isn’t competing for a job will probably take a week or two off by going on vacation, playing golf, etc., just to mentally reset and get away from football for a little bit before it consumes their life for the next six months. They’re still working out during this time, but the training is going to be more focused on staying in shape, injury prevention and overall just getting the body prepared for the beating it’s about to take, rather than looking to make major gains at this stage.
Meanwhile, the guys who are fighting for a job don’t have that luxury. Both mentally and physically, they’re still pushing the limits to try to get that final edge to help make the team. Those guys might gear back on the training closer to camp, but you can’t focus too much on how your body is going to hold up through 17 regular-season games if you can’t make it to Week 1.
Essentially, the difference comes down to the players who are safe don’t need to be at their best in training camp, but the ones who aren’t do. So, the urgency is different over the next roughly six weeks depending on the individual’s roster status.
All of this being said, there are a handful of players around the league who will do nothing but chill during this period and show up to camp out of shape. Those guys typically don’t last long, though.
Q: What’s your over/under for the number of regular-season games until Fernando Mendoza starts?
A: This has been a popular question over the last couple of months, and I’m glad it’s popping up again now. The last time I dove into it, the schedule hadn’t come out yet, and I said the ideal situation for Mendoza’s first start is if the bye week is around the middle of the season. However, the Week 13 bye throws that out of the window, as I have a hard time seeing the Raiders waiting until mid-December to put the No. 1 pick on the field.
Now that we have the schedule, I’ll set the line at 6.5 games. That gives the rookie a month-and-a-half to see what it takes to prepare for a game as a starting quarterback in the NFL, while keeping him out of the fire and buying some more time for him to master the offense and adjust to life as a professional. Also, that means the offensive line has time to gel together before putting the franchise’s future behind them.
What gives me pause and could move the line I set above is that the Raiders play the Rams in Week 7. I could see Klint Kubiak and the coaching staff not wanting Mendoza’s first start to be against the Super Bowl favorite, especially now that Myles Garrett is in Los Angeles. And if Aaron Donald comes back, I’m certainly changing that line, LOL!
So, maybe Week 6 at home against the Bills or Week 8 for a road matchup against the Jets are better benchmarks.
Q: Why not sign AOC to a competitive backup contract to keep him as the long-term QB2? This presupposes that Coach Kubiak’s comments of late are genuine and that he truly likes what he has in Aidan. I understand that Aidan believes he is a legitimate starter (something I agree with), but that will require someone else to sign him to a QB1 contract (he clearly has no chance of being the Raiders’ QB1). If no one is willing to do that, what is the downside to offering him a high-end QB2 (which he clearly is) contract? I certainly cannot understand the logic for trading him for a late-day 3 pick (to replace him with who?).
A: I think you kind of answered your own question. Aidan O’Connell turns 28 in September and likely wants to at least have one more chance at starting before falling into the career-long backup role. Obviously, that’s not going to happen in Las Vegas with Mendoza around, so I don’t think AOC is going to be interested in signing a contract extension with the Raiders.
Another team doesn’t have to offer him a “QB1 contract” for that to happen, as he could get a deal similar to what Gardner Minshew signed with the Raiders a few years ago; two years, $25 million, where only about one year is guaranteed. The money probably wouldn’t be as much as Minshew’s, but something along those lines, where O’Connell isn’t handed the starting job going into a new situation but will compete for it.
Also, long-term backup quarterback contracts don’t really exist in the NFL. Those guys typically only get/sign one- or two-year deals, maybe three. But if no team is willing to give O’Connell a chance to at least compete for a starting job, then I could see him coming back to Las Vegas as Mendoza’s backup. But I wouldn’t expect that to be a long-term contract, as O’Connell would likely want to test the market again the following offseason.
Q: Could you please give an in-depth assessment of Jalen Nailor? What do you see as his floor and ceiling for 2026 and beyond? Is Jalen the “X” receiver we’ve been needing since trading Jakobi Meyers?
A: I did a film breakdown on Nailor that touches on a lot of your questions, so take a look at the related article below if you want some more details on his game. To summarize it a bit, the free-agent signing doesn’t fit the typical “X-receiver” mold that we typically think of. His skillset is actually pretty similar to Tre Tucker’s, and I think Nailor offers the most value as someone who can be moved around between the slot and out wide.
I understand where the concern comes from with the whole X-receiver talking point because that type of player is undoubtedly missing from the Raiders’ roster. But I also don’t think Klint Kubiak really cares about or necessarily needs that kind of receiver in his offense. He seems to prefer guys who can be interchangeable, or he can move around a lot.
Kubiak had a “go-to receiver” in Seattle with Jaxon Smith-Njigba last year. Even Smith-Njigba was lining up all over the place and didn’t fit the mold of a typical X. That worked out pretty well, seeing as the wideout was the 2025 Offensive Player of the Year. Of course, the Raiders don’t have a receiver who is nearly as talented as JSN is, but my point here is that the lack of an X-receiver on the roster isn’t as significant in Kubiak’s offense with the way the coach operates his passing game.
A: Yeah, I strongly disagree with the take that Adam Butler is a legitimate nose tackle option. Butler isn’t a good run defender, and the nose tackle snaps he’s gotten in the past have typically been on passing downs because he’s good at executing stunts or line games. Ideally, either J.J. Pegues, Brandon Cleveland, Gary Smith III or Laki Tasi takes over that role this year. Otherwise, expect the need in the middle of the defense to carry over to next offseason.
A: I definitely agree with Steve and Sam, I’m bullish on Jack Bech and Jackson Powers-Johnson this season. Those two are in my breakout candidates, and I like that you threw Charles Grant in there, too. I understand where you’re coming from with Ashton Jeanty and think he’ll be more productive this season, but I have a hard time naming a first-round pick (and top 10 pick at that) as a “breakout” candidate. So, Tucker would be my third, and I like Treydan Stukes if I have to pick a defensive player.
Someone else asked what the chances are that JPJ isn’t a starter this year, and that’s definitely a possibility. It’s a wide-open competition at guard, and he didn’t play well last season, on top of struggling to stay on the field so far in his career. Ideally, Powers-Johnson earns one of the two starting guard spots because he’s the most talented lineman in the competition. But he has to prove himself in training camp and stay healthy.
A: Along the same lines as JPJ, the ideal situation for the Raiders is that Caleb Rogers beats out Spencer Burford and Jordan Meredith for a starting guard spot. The latter two feel more like potential placeholders, while Rogers has a future in Las Vegas. As I’ve mentioned a lot recently, this season the Raiders want guys on the field who can be part of the long-term plan versus one-year holdovers.
Powers-Johnson, Rogers, and throw Trey Zuhn III in there too, all fit into that category. Burford and Meredith are both on one-year contracts, so even if they play well, there’s a chance they aren’t on the team next year.
As far as a percentage for Rogers’ starting, I could throw out a random number that comes to my head. But let’s be honest, that doesn’t mean much anyway.
A: Especially with Nakobe Dean’s history and the recent development that Dean’s absence from the spring is in fact injury-related, while the team isn’t giving any details, the linebacker situation is still murky despite signing two of them during free agency. Even Quay Walker isn’t a sure thing because he’s missed at least three games in each of the last three seasons and isn’t a finished product as a player, yet.
Behind the former Georgia Bulldogs, Tommy Eichenberg and Cody Lindenberg are the leading candidates to occupy the third inside linebacker role on Las Vegas’ defense next season. Yes, the Bergs don’t have much experience. But, as I’ve said a lot this offseason and mentioned above, the 2026 campaign for the Raiders is about seeing who can be part of the team long-term, and that means giving young guys opportunities they haven’t had yet.
So, Eichnberg and Lindenberg should have a chance to prove themselves this fall, especially if Dean and/or Walker can’t stay on the field, and it sounds like the 2025 seventh-round pick has the early edge with a good showing during the spring. I liked both of those guys coming out of college, so I’m excited to see what they can do this summer.
And just like nose tackle, if no one steps up on the second level of the Silver and Black’s defense this year, expect a lot of articles about linebackers in the offseason from me!
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 to SBPQuestions1@gmail.com or look for our weekly call for questions on the site. The latter will continue to publish on Thursdays.
