Training camp is finally here as the rookies on the Las Vegas Raiders’ roster reported on Thursday, and the veterans will join them this upcoming Tuesday. The Raiders also had some good news just ahead of camp with Jermod McCoy and Fernando Mendoza signing their contracts, so the entire team should be in attendance to kick off the summer practice sessions, barring any surprises next week. On that note, let’s get to this week’s mailbag!
A: Jackson Powers-Johnson has been a popular subject when it comes
to this topic during the offseason, especially after the Raiders signed a new starting center (Tyler Linderbaum) and used another third-round pick on a guard (Trey Zuhn III). I definitely agree with the thought that Powers-Johnson will be a trade candidate if he doesn’t win one of the two open starting interior offensive line spots during training camp.
With Zuhn and Caleb Rogers both having more years left on their rookie contracts than JPJ does, the organization has a pair of young guards to develop outside of the 2024 second-round pick. So if he’s not starting, there’s less reason to keep him on the roster, especially since that likely means Rogers or Zuhn is already ahead of Powers-Johnson on the depth chart.
That being said, I think JPJ should win one of the starting jobs because he’s the most talented lineman in the competition. But he has to prove it, and he’s been inconsistent so far. To be clear, I’d imagine he’d get traded rather than being cut outright. The return would probably be pretty minimal, but I’d be willing to bet that some team liked him enough during the draft a couple of years ago to be up for buying low and bet on his potential.
As for other potential surprise cuts, I dove into this a little more than a week ago and listed five players (other than JPJ) who could be on the chopping block. Probably the biggest shocker would be Malcolm Koonce!
A: I lean toward the offensive line, and defensive tackle isn’t too far behind. The other three positions you mentioned are certainly up there, too. However, the sticking point for me is that there are a lot of young players who I’d like to see get playing time during the season to help gauge if they can be part of the long-term plan.
We already went over the o-line, and the interior d-line is full of young guys outside of Adam Butler and Benito Jones. Wide receiver has Jack Bech, Malik Benson and Dont’e Thornton, while the linebacker depth includes the Bergs, both of whom are still on their rookie contracts. Granted, the options are limited at free safety; more on that later.
So, it comes down to this: In a season where we’re expecting the Raiders to be rebuilding (i.e., long shots to be playoff contenders), would you rather see old guys on one-year contracts like Devin White, Jamal Adams and Elandon Roberts, or youngins who are trying to prove themselves and have a future with the organization?
I’m going with the latter, which is why I’d rather see the Raiders stay away from adding veterans who are available at the end of July and stick with the roster as is.
A: This was the reason why Treydan Stukes wasn’t on my radar much heading into the draft; he was a nickelback in college and only took a handful of snaps at free safety. Ironically, after trading for Taron Johnson, I thought the other Arizona safety, Genesis Smith, would be more of a target for John Spytek since Smith was the Wildcats’ deep defender. However, Spytek opted for the better overall player and is taking a flier on Stukes’ versatility.
In other words, you’re 100 percent correct that the second-round pick primarily played in the box in college and is a projection at free safety. But if you want him on the field in year one, the clearest path is on the backend of the defense. Jeremy Chinn is the starting strong safety and can play big nickel, while Johnson can fill the slot corner role, and a big question mark exists at free safety.
For what it’s worth, I think Stukes has the traits to become a good deep defender in the NFL. He has good instincts, is fast (ran a 4.33 40 at the combine after tearing an ACL in 2024), shows good ball skills (four interceptions, six PDs last year), and is willing to downhill and mix it up in the running game.
On top of that, I think his skill set might actually translate better at free safety than at nickel because I’m not a big fan of his change of direction skills and short-area quickness, both of which are necessary to cover shifty slot receivers in the league.
Granted, you could be onto something where maybe the plan is to have Stukes take over at nickel in the future. Chinn’s contract expires at the end of the year, and Johnson’s deal has two more years on it, but 2027 is more like a team option since the Raiders can cut him without taking a dead cap hit, per Over The Cap. But that would just mean free safety is a need again next spring because the cupboard is pretty bare.
If Stukes or Isaiah Pola-Mao isn’t lining up at free safety, option C right now is Tristin McCollum, who has been in the league since 2022 and has played less than 500 regular-season snaps in his career. Dalton Johnson has some experience on the backend of the defense, but Johnson profiles more like a strong safety/big nickel to take over for Chinn. So, in my opinion, Stukes is the best option at free safety.
If anyone is interested, here’s a link to the Tape Don’t Lie episode referenced in the question.
Q: Should we take Klint Kubiak and Kirk Cousins at their word; i.e., the best QB out of camp will be the one to start. Suppose that QB is Aiden O’Connell. How does that change the narrative?
A: If O’Connell is the best quarterback in training camp, then that makes him a good trade asset for the Raiders.
The organization committed itself to Fernando Mendoza for at least two to three years by taking Mendoza No. 1 overall in the draft, ending any hopes that O’Connell has a future in Las Vegas if he wants to be a starter in the NFL since he’s entering a contract year.
I’m sure Spytek is hoping AOC balls out in the preseason because that increases his trade value. But the situation and the narrative doesn’t change, this is Fernando Mendoza’s team moving forward and O’Connell only sticks around if he’s comfortable being a backup.
Q: I’m curious about the reports that Mendoza is set to start Week 1 against Miami?
A: There wasn’t much of a “report”, Ian Rapoport just said on NFL Network that there is a chance that the No. 1 pick is a Week 1 starter, while also saying that there’s a chance he doesn’t see the field at all this season if Cousins is playing well. In other words, Rapoport is just reitierating what we’ve known for months: the plan for when Mendoza makes his first start is up in the air and dependant on how he looks in training camp and the preseason.
A: It’s definitety a share because Curt Cignetti has a good scheme and has won every where he’s been, including a successful 11-2 season at Indiana the year before Mendoza got there. But rather than give you an arbitrary number for the share of each, let’s compare Mendoza to the Hoosiers’ quarterback during Cignetti’s first season in Bloomington: Kurtis Rourke.
Rourke was entering his sixth college season in 2025 after spending five years at Ohio, and was the Bobcats’ starting quarterback for three seasons. He had a good year at Indiana, completing 69.4 percent of his passes for 3,042 yards and 29 touchdowns with five interceptions in 12 games, earning a second-team All Big Ten bid and finishing nineth in the Heisman voting before being a seventh-round pick in San Francisco.
Meanwhile, Mendoza was at Cal for three years and had two season as the starter before becoming a Hoosier. He played in four more games than Rourke, but posted a higher completion percentage (72.0 %) and threw just one more interception while leading the country with 41 touchdown passes (about 2.6 per game versus about 2.4 for Rourke). Granted, Rourke did throw for about 35 more yards per game.
In other words, Cignetti’s scheme does help quarterbacks be successful and Indiana was a good team with an NFL-caliber quarterback before the No. 1 pick got there. However, it took a special talent to elevate them into National Champions, and two quarterbacks who played in the same scheme were viewed very differently by the league.
A: It’s tough to say because while I’m optimistic about this offseason, I’m also not expecting immediate results in terms of wins and losses this season. My optimism is centered around the furture and having a young core that grows together, similar to the 2014 squad with rookies Derek Carr and Khalil Mack. I didn’t expect much going into that season, but once Carr, Mack and the rest of that team starting showing promise and were competitive in 2015, I had high hopes heading into 2016.
Granted, the most optimistic I’ve been about a Raiders team at this time of year was 2017, and that was one of the most disapointing seasons of my fandom, LOL! I thought that team was going to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender that year.
So, I’m optimistic that the Raiders are finally on the right path to rebuild, and feel like they’re on a path to be a perenial contender for the first time in about a decade. Hopefully, this unit can avoid a 2017-level setback, though.
Q: Now that the World Cup is over, how has it affected matters for the upcoming NFL season in the US and globally? I.e., the Raiders playing internationally?
A: It’s not going to impact much for this season since the timelines are too close. But honestly, I think the biggest change stemming from the World Cup is the push for grass fields across the entire NFL.
There’s been a push for that from the players for a few years, and now they have more ammunition since NFL stadiums that typically have turf were rolling out the grass for the World Cup. That discussion seems to have gained steam over the last couple of months.
As fas as the global impact and the Raiders playing internationally, the league has already been pushing for more opportunities to grow the game across the world. The 2026 season is set to have the most international games in NFL history with nine contests in seven different countries, and it’s not just the Jaguars anymore.
They’re sending several iconic franchises that already have big fanbases like the 49ers, Steelers, Cowboys, Ravens, Patriots and Eagles. Meanwhile, the Raiders haven’t played outside of the US since 2019, so I’m expecting them to be in the mix in the next year or two. But, to answer the question, I don’t think the World Cup impacts that at all.
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.
