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Raiders’ Jackson Powers-Johnson Working Exclusively At Center

June 8th, 2025 at 9:32am CST by Rory Parks

Despite winning the 2023 Rimington Trophy, given to the best center in college football, Raiders offensive lineman and 2024 second-round pick Jackson Powers-Johnson played more left guard than center in his rookie season. And new GM John Spytek said back in April that free agent acquisition Alex Cappa would compete for one of the guard spots while Powers-Johnson, Dylan Parham, and Jordan Meredith would vie for the other starting guard slot and the starting center gig.

As our Sam Robinson noted at the time, it would be a surprise if Powers-Johnson failed to earn a first-string role in light of his draft pedigree. Considering his collegiate success as a pivot – to say nothing of his promising performance in his first professional season – it makes sense for him to take over as the full-time center.

Per Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Powers-Johnson is working exclusively as a snapper this offseason, which is in keeping with previous reports on the matter. JPJ’s ability to focus on one position, coupled with an improvement in his medical status – he missed most of training camp and the first two games of the regular season due to injury in 2024 – has created optimism that he will help spark a considerable improvement on the league’s worst rushing attack (Las Vegas averaged just 79.8 rushing yards per game and 3.6 yards per carry last season).

“I never really had a real offseason at center. I was always playing five or six different positions,” Powers-Johnson said. “So being able to really hone in on one has been awesome.”

Given the presence of veteran center Andre James on last year’s roster, it made sense for the Raiders’ prior regime to cross-train Powers-Johnson. The Oregon product started five games at left guard and then moved to center for six contests when James went down with an injury. Upon James’ return, Powers-Johnson moved back to LG for the final three games of the season.

Las Vegas released James in March, clearing the way for JPJ to assume the starting center job. Although he struggled with penalties as a rookie – according to Pro Football Focus, Powers-Johnson tallied 14 infractions in his 14 starts – PFF did assign him strong grades for his work in pass protection (68.3) and in run-blocking (70.4).

New offensive coordinator Chip Kelly’s blocking scheme requires a high level of athleticism from its O-linemen, so Powers-Johnson has lost 15 pounds to facilitate the transition to that system. At present, it would seem that the Raiders’ starting offensive front, from left to right, will be Kolton Miller, Parham, Powers-Johnson, Cappa, and Delmar Glaze. That group will be blocking for promising rookie RB Ashton Jeanty, whom the Raiders selected with this year’s No. 6 overall pick.

2025 NFL Cap Space, By Team

June 4th, 2025 at 8:57am CST by Sam Robinson

This week started with a point on the NFL calendar that has been important for decades. Although teams have not needed to wait until June to make their most expensive cuts in many years, they do not see the funds from post-June 1 designations until that point.

With June 1 coming and going, a fourth of the league has seen the savings from post-June 1 releases arrive. That has affected the NFL’s cap-space hierarchy. Here is how every team stands (via OverTheCap) following June 2 changes:

  1. New England Patriots: $67.34MM
  2. San Francisco 49ers: $53.49MM
  3. Detroit Lions: $40.12MM
  4. New York Jets: $39.8MM
  5. Las Vegas Raiders: $36.16MM
  6. Arizona Cardinals: $32.11MM
  7. Dallas Cowboys: $32.11MM
  8. Pittsburgh Steelers: $31.88MM
  9. Seattle Seahawks: $31.21MM
  10. Tennessee Titans: $30.16MM
  11. Green Bay Packers: $28.94MM
  12. Cincinnati Bengals: $27.08MM
  13. Los Angeles Chargers: $26.83MM
  14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $26.63MM
  15. Jacksonville Jaguars: $26.54MM
  16. Philadelphia Eagles: $25.79MM
  17. New Orleans Saints: $22.62MM
  18. Washington Commanders: $21.13MM
  19. Indianapolis Colts: $20.09MM
  20. Los Angeles Rams: $19.44MM
  21. Baltimore Ravens: $18.95MM
  22. Carolina Panthers: $18.69MM
  23. Minnesota Vikings: $18.49MM
  24. Cleveland Browns: $18.2MM
  25. Houston Texans: $16.3MM
  26. Denver Broncos: $16.23MM
  27. Chicago Bears: $14.76MM
  28. Miami Dolphins: $13.81MM
  29. Kansas City Chiefs: $10.75MM
  30. Atlanta Falcons: $5.02MM
  31. New York Giants: $3.82MM
  32. Buffalo Bills: $1.69MM

The Jets saw their situation change the most from post-June 1 designations, as $13.5MM became available to the team after its Aaron Rodgers and C.J. Mosley cuts. Teams have up to two post-June 1 designations at their disposals. Five clubs — the Jets, Browns, Ravens, Eagles and 49ers — used both slots. Only three other teams made a post-June 1 cut before that seminal date. The eight that made these moves will have dead money split between 2025 and 2026.

Baltimore used the cost-defraying option to release Marcus Williams and Justin Tucker, while Cleveland — in Year 4 of the regrettable Deshaun Watson partnership — used it to move on from Juan Thornhill and Dalvin Tomlinson. As the Eagles’ option bonus-heavy payroll included two hefty bonus numbers for Darius Slay and James Bradberry, the reigning Super Bowl champions released both 30-something cornerbacks. Together, Slay and Bradberry will count more than $20MM on Philadelphia’s 2026 cap sheet. As for this year, though, the Browns, Eagles, Ravens and 49ers respectively saved $9.85MM, $9.4MM, $6.3MM, $6.4MM and $5.6MM, according to Spotrac.

The Jaguars made a mid-offseason decision to release Gabe Davis, doing so not long after trading up to draft Travis Hunter — with the plan to primarily play him at wide receiver — at No. 2 overall. Off-field issues, coupled with a down 2024 season, made Tucker expendable — after the Ravens drafted Tyler Loop in Round 6. The Vikings moved off Garrett Bradbury‘s contract and will replace him with free agency addition Ryan Kelly, while Mason lasted two seasons paired with C.J. Stroud‘s rookie deal. The 49ers made it known early they were moving on from Javon Hargrave, while 2024 trade addition Maliek Collins also exited the team’s D-tackle room.

Derek Carr‘s retirement being processed Tuesday also changed the Saints’ funding. The team will spread the dead money ($50.13MM) across two years. Even with the number being reduced this year, the Saints will be hit with the second-highest single-player dead money hit (behind only the Broncos’ Russell Wilson separation) in NFL history as a result of the Carr exit. The Saints will only be responsible for $19.21MM of that total in 2025. As they did with Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox‘s retirements last year, the Eagles will also process Brandon Graham‘s hit this way.

Eight of this year’s post-June 1 releases remain in free agency. The Patriots added Bradbury to replace the now-retired David Andrews, while the Vikings scooped up Hargrave. As the Steelers await Rodgers’ decision, they added two other post-June 1 releases in Slay and Thornhill. Tomlinson joined the Cardinals not long after his Browns release.

AFC West Rumors: Bozeman, Mahomes, Rice, Raiders

June 1st, 2025 at 9:24pm CST by Ely Allen

The Chargers‘ interior offensive line blocking was a weakness of the team in 2024. The team addressed the right guard position by signing Mekhi Becton after the former first-round pick had a breakout season in Philadelphia. The center and left guard spots, though, are currently a bit more up in the air as Los Angeles has been experimenting with swapping Bradley Bozeman and Zion Johnson from the positions at which they started in 2024.

As the team has continued in this experiment, Daniel Popper of The Athletic has called into question whether or not Bozeman will start at all. While Bozeman has been a starting lineman in the NFL for most of the past four seasons, he has never graded out as one of the NFL’s best interior blockers, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Bozeman filled starting roles at left guard and center for the Ravens throughout his rookie contract, but they allowed him to walk in free agency. He signed with Carolina as a backup, only earning the starting center role because of injury. The Panthers did re-sign him, but they quickly released him only a year into his three-year, $18MM deal.

After he started for a year in Los Angeles, the Chargers gave him a more reserved two-year, $6.5MM deal. Popper seems pretty sure that Johnson will be starting, though whether at center or left guard remains to be seen. He thinks Bozeman could end up starting at the other position, but the team has set themselves up well regardless. Free agent signing Andre James provides insurance at center, while Trey Pipkins III and Jamaree Salyer both started games at guard last year and could potentially step in if Bozeman struggles. The Chargers also drafted Branson Taylor out of Pittsburgh in the sixth round and worked him at left guard in rookie minicamp. Suffice it to say, Los Angeles has plenty of options as they continue to try and improve their interior offensive line.

Here are a few other rumors coming out of the AFC West, starting with a couple from Kansas City:

  • There was a bit of chatter after it was decided that NFL players would be allowed to participate in flag football in the 2028 Olympics concerning which players would be best suited to represent Team USA. One player sure to show up on many people’s dream team took himself out of the running. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes told reporters he was not planning on playing, saying that he would “leave that to the younger guys.”
  • Another Chiefs player is making less light-hearted news as wide receiver Rashee Rice continues in his legal struggles. Per Mike Florio of NBC Sports, Rice is now facing a third lawsuit related to the street-racing crash in Dallas back in March of 2024. Kayla Quinn is the latest person to allege that she and her son sustained physical and mental injuries as a result of the incident.
  • According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the Raiders have developed a reputation for traditionally operating in a cash-poor manner. New limited owner Tom Brady has reportedly made it known that he intends to change that reputation. Per Breer, Brady promised any coaching candidates in January that he and his fellow new limited partners would “materially change” the team’s spending habits.

NFL Front Office Updates: Ravens, Jets, Eagles, Raiders

June 1st, 2025 at 6:02pm CST by Ely Allen

The Ravens announced a number of promotions in their front office this weekend, per team editorial director Ryan Mink, with four new positions in the scouting department and two more in analytics.

In the scouting department, we saw Bobby Vega elevated from national scout to senior personnel executive. Vega started his career as a player personnel intern for two months before landing a scouting assistant role in Cleveland. Over 13 years with the Browns, Vega moved up the ladder to college scout, national scout, and eventually director of college scouting. In 2018, he reunited with Baltimore, spending seven years as a college scout before moving into his most recent role for the last two years.

Vega’s role will reportedly be filled by two staffers, Brandon Berning and Chas Stallard. Berning has been with the Ravens since 2015 after shorts stints with the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, the MLB’s Milwaukee Brewers, the University of Wisconsin football team, and the Giants. He most recently served as the team’s midwest/southwest area scout. Stallard joined the Ravens in 2018 as a player personnel assistant and most recently served as Baltimore’s southwest area scout.

Lastly, in the scouting department, Terrell Parker will become the team’s central area scout after serving a year as pro scout & salary cap analyst. He worked two internships with the team in 2018 and 2019 before getting hired as a player personnel assistant and moving up to scouting and salary cap analyst then elevated again to his most recent role.

In the analytics department, James Oncea has been promoted from football systems manager to director of football systems. He started with the team in 2021 as a football systems developer. Samantha Lazar also moves up in Baltimore’s analytics group. She started with the Ravens two years ago as a quantitative analyst and has been promoted to senior quantitative analyst.

Here are a few other staff updates from other teams around the NFL:

  • The Jets also made recent additions to their scouting and analytics departments. Per Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, JaLun Morris has been hired as a scout. After time at UAB and Alabama, Morris breached the NFL ranks in Seattle before spending three years as a player personnel assistant for the Raiders. ESPN’s Seth Walder also tells us that Arjun Menon has been promoted to football analytics assistant. Menon had been working an internship with the team after his time as a data analyst on the championship-winning Michigan Wolverines team in 2023.
  • Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com tells us that Ryan Myers is being promoted to director of college scouting for the Eagles. Myers has been in Philadelphia since 2013 after seven years with the 49ers, as well. Before that, he worked in the Canadian Football League, United Football League, Arena Football League, and the NFL league office. After serving in several college and pro scouting roles over his first five years with the Eagles, Myers spent four years as west coast area scout and three as assistant director of college scouting.
  • Lastly, the Raiders have hired Andrew Fedele to work in the role of manager of football data science and engineering, per Seth Walder of ESPN. Fedele had previously been working with the Jaguars as senior manager of strategic research and development. Before coming to the NFL, Fedele worked analytics for the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA.

Raiders’ Malcolm Koonce Returns To Practice

May 31st, 2025 at 11:23am CST by Nikhil Mehta

Raiders edge rusher Malcolm Koonce returned to practice this week after missing all of the 2024 season with a knee injury, per Tashan Reed of The Athletic.

Koonce was expected to build on a solid 2023 campaign heading into a contract year last summer. Instead, he tore his ACL in the team’s last practice before the start of the regular season, and the subsequent surgery sidelined him for nine months. Despite the injury, the Raiders’ new regime made the 2021 third-rounder a priority this offseason and re-signed him to a one-year, $11MM contract.

The length makes it somewhat of a ‘prove-it’ deal, but $10MM is fully-guaranteed and only an additional $1MM is tied to playtime incentives, a sign of the team’s confidence in Koonce’s recovery. Overall, it’s a strong contract coming off a major injury, especially with new leadership in Las Vegas that let other 2021 draft picks like Tre’von Moehrig and Nate Hobbs leave in free agency this offseason.

The Raiders are clearly expecting Koonce to return to his pre-injury trajectory. After just four combined sacks and tackles for loss in his first two seasons, he posted 17 in 2023, plus three forced fumbles. He started 11 games, but finished the season with just a 44% snap share, indicating that Koonce’s production has room to go with more playing time.

A smooth return to the field will slot Koonce in as a starting edge defender opposite Maxx Crosby. The Raiders don’t have much depth behind them; 2022 No. 7 pick Tyree Wilson has been a steady contributor but hasn’t lived up to his draft billing, and Charles Snowden didn’t make much of an impact in his nine starts last season. Las Vegas also signed Jah Joyner and Jahfari Harvey as undrafted rookie depth to add to 2024 UDFA Amari Gainer.

WR Jakobi Meyers Wants To Re-Sign With Raiders

May 30th, 2025 at 6:03pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Jakobi Meyers is entering the final year of his contract with the Raiders, but he would prefer to stay in Las Vegas past 2025.

“I want to be here for sure, but that’s all I can really say on it right now,” said Meyers (via The Athletic’s Tashan Reed). “That’s business between us and the top floor, so I’ma just hold that one down for now.”

Meyers eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his career last season despite inconsistent quarterback play from Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell. His 68.5 yards per game ranked 19th among all players in 2024, though he only reeled in four touchdowns with a 55.8% catch rate right around his career average.

The 28-year-old signed with the Raiders on a three-year, $33MM contract ($16MM fully guaranteed) in 2023, an impressive haul for a former undrafted free agent. The receiver market has increased since then, though an explosion in top WR salaries may not be as much of a boost to a mid-tier player like Meyers. However, he could play himself into a bigger payday with the addition of Geno Smith, his best quarterback since his 2019 rookie season with now-Raiders minority owner Tom Brady in New England.

The Raiders only have only one non-rookie wideout under contract through 2026: Tre Tucker, who had an encouraging second season in 2024 but may not be ready for a WR1 role. Even if they invest in premium receiving talent via free agency and/or the draft next offseason, Meyers would still be a productive, versatile WR2 who’s already familiar with the offense. His $11MM APY adjusted for cap inflation would be $13.66MM in 2025, just outside of the top 25 at the position. Another strong effort this year could push Meyers north of $15MM, so the Raiders may try to sign him before the season to get a bargain in the long term.

Meyers’ current contract is set to void five days after Super Bowl, per OverTheCap, though the two sides could push that date back to give them more time for negotiations. He would count for $4.318MM in dead money against the Raiders’ 2026 salary cap if he isn’t extended before his contract voids.

Raiders, P A.J. Cole Agree To Extension

May 26th, 2025 at 10:55pm CST by Adam La Rose

A.J. Cole‘s tenure with the Raiders will continue for the foreseeable future. The veteran punter agreed to an extension on Monday, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reports.

This will be a four-year, $15.8MM deal, per Schultz. The pact includes $11MM in guarantees and makes Cole the NFL’s highest-paid punter in terms of annual compensation. The 29-year-old is now under contract with the Raiders through 2029.

This is Cole’s second extension with the organization. Midway through the 2021 campaign, he inked a four-year, $12MM deal. This latest agreement represents a slight raise in terms of AAV and moves him ahead of the Seahawks’ Michael Dickson ($3.67MM) in that respect. Cole did not receive a Pro Bowl nod in 2024, but he did for each of the three prior seasons.

That stretch also included a pair of first-team All-Pro nods, an indication of Cole’s success during his Raiders tenure. The former UDFA has posted a gross average of 50 yards per punt or more three times since 2021, and in each of the past two seasons he has set a new career high in that regard. In terms of net average, Cole steadily improved early in his career and he has remained consistent for several years.

“I love the organization, I love the fans and I love Las Vegas,” Cole said while reflecting on the deal in a conversation with Schultz. “I told my agents: I want to be here for a long time. I want to play until I’m 40. I want to play forever.”

Cole certainly has a long way to go to remain in the NFL by that age, but the first six years of his career have been highly successful. He is on track to continue operating as one of the league’s top punters for years to come, and the new Raiders regime has ensured that will still take place with him in Vegas.

Jordan Meredith, Dylan Parham To Battle For Raiders’ LG Job

May 26th, 2025 at 6:26pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Raiders underwent a transformation this offseason, hiring a new head coach and general manager in Pete Carroll and John Spytek and trading for Geno Smith to start at quarterback.

Their offensive line will be more of a constant with five returning players who were on the field for at least 50% of the team’s offensive snaps in 2024: Kolton Miller, Jordan Meredith, Jackson Powers-Johnson, Dylan Parham, and Delmar Glaze. Those five were also the Raiders’ starters (from left to right) to close the season.

There was some turnover; veteran center Andre James signed with the Chargers in free agency and former Bengals and Buccaneers guard Alex Cappa arrived in Las Vegas on a two-year, $11MM deal. Cappa is expected to take over at right guard with Powers-Johnson staying at center, per The Athletic’s Tashan Reed, setting up a competition between Parham and Meredith for the starting left guard job.

With significantly more experience as a starter, Parham should have pole position. The 2022 third-rounder started all 34 regular-season games at right guard in the first two years of his career and added 14 more in 2024. He missed two games due to injury and finished the season with 882 total snaps, which upgraded his 2025 salary to $3.656MM via the league’s Proven Performance Escalator system. Parham has minimal NFL experience at left guard, but he started 28 games there during his college career at Memphis.

Meredith didn’t earn a starting job out of training camp last year, but stepped into a starting role when Parham went down with a foot injury. He stayed in the starting lineup by moving to left guard in Week 9 after Powers-Johnson took over for James at center. Meredith finished the season with six starts (365 total snaps) at left and two starts (209 total snaps) at right guard, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). He is in the final year of his UDFA contract, but can be retained as a restricted free agent for the 2026 season.

If Parham can successfully flip to the left side, he should be able to hold onto a starting job for the fourth year in a row, with Meredith likely backing up both guard spots as he did last season.

Raiders DT Christian Wilkins Unlikely To Be Cleared Before Training Camp

May 22nd, 2025 at 2:42pm CST by Adam La Rose

Christian Wilkins was limited to just five games during his debut season with the Raiders due to a Jones fracture. Surgery in October shut him down for the remainder of the campaign, and things have not gone smoothly with respect to his rehab process.

Wilkins’ left foot has been in and out of a walking boot since the procedure, as noted by Vic Tafur of The Athletic (subscription required). The big-ticket 2024 free agent addition was mentioned last month as a candidate to miss time during the coming season based on his status at the time. With Wilkins not taking part in spring practices, it is clear he still has plenty of work to do to suit up for Week 1.

“This has been a difficult recovery,” head coach Pete Carroll said when speaking about Wilkins’ situation (via Tafur). “He’s done everything he needs to do. He’s been here every day… We’re in the midst of a long, challenging process here. Fortunately, there’s a lot of time.”

April’s update suggested a second procedure took place, but Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal notes Wilkins is dealing with a setback. The screw inserted into the 29-year-old’s foot may have broken, or Wilkins may have re-fractured the bone which was initially injured. The latter scenario is rare, but in either case Bonsignore adds a return to full health should not be expected until August.

That timeline would leave the former Dolphin sidelined for the remainder of OTAs and minicamp through the start of training camp in July. Wilkins being back to 100% by that point would still leave plenty of time for him to prepare for the season, of course, but in the meantime his absence will be felt on a Raiders team which added him on a four-year, $110MM contract last March. That pact was restructured this offseason in a move which created $15MM in cap room but left high expectations for the former first-rounder upon return.

Vegas still has veteran Adam Butler in place along the defensive line, and the team made a pair of additions during the fourth and sixth rounds of the draft (Tonka Hemingway, J.J. Pegues). That group’s performance will depend in large part on Wilkins delivering on expectations this year, of course, but given his current status it remains to be seen how much time he will spend on the field during training camp.

The Most Lucrative ILB Contract In Each Franchise’s History

May 21st, 2025 at 10:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 49ers have again made Fred Warner the NFL’s highest-paid off-ball linebacker. The franchise did this in 2021 as well. A team that has employed All-Pro NaVorro Bowman and Hall of Famer Patrick Willis over the past 15 years, the 49ers have spent on the high end to fortify this position. Other clubs, however, have been far more hesitant to unload significant cash to staff this job.

The $20MM-per-year linebacker club consists of only two players (Warner, Roquan Smith), but only four surpass $15MM per year presently. Last year saw the Jaguars and Jets (Foye Oluokun, C.J. Mosley) trim their priciest ILBs’ salaries in exchange for guarantees, and the Colts did not make it too far with Shaquille Leonard‘s big-ticket extension. Although some contracts handed out this offseason created optimism about this stubborn market, franchises’ pasts here do not depict a trend of paying second-level defenders.

Excluding rookie contracts and arranged by guaranteed money, here is (via OvertheCap) the richest contract each franchise has given to an off-ball ‘backer:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Milano’s first extension (in 2021) brought more in overall value and fully guaranteed money, but the 2023 pact provided more in total guarantees

Carolina Panthers

Shaq Thompson‘s 2019 extension brought a higher AAV ($13.54MM), but Kuechly’s included more in guarantees

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Dre Greenlaw‘s 2025 contract (three years, $31.5MM) brought a higher AAV but a lower guarantee

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Azeez Al-Shaair checks in atop franchise history in AAV ($11.33MM) but fell short of McKinney’s in guarantees

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Rolando McClain‘s 2010 rookie contract, agreed to in the final year before the rookie-scale system debuted, checked in higher in terms of guarantees ($22.83MM)

Los Angeles Chargers

Kenneth Murray‘s rookie contract (a fully guaranteed $12.97MM) narrowly eclipses this deal

Los Angeles Rams

Mark Barron‘s 2016 contract brought a higher AAV ($9MM) but a lower guarantee

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

  • Jerod Mayo; December 17, 2011: Five years, $48.5MM ($27MM guaranteed)

Robert Spillane‘s $11MM AAV leads the way at this position in New England, but the recently dismissed HC’s contract brought more guaranteed money

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Blake Martinez‘s free agency deal included a higher AAV ($10.25MM) but a lower guaranteee

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Warner secured more guaranteed money on this extension than he did on his five-year 2021 deal ($40.5MM guaranteed)

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Jamin Davis‘ fully guaranteed rookie contract brought a higher guarantee ($13.79MM)

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