The Raiders’ rookie minicamp concluded today. In addition to the drafted rookies and undrafted free agent rookies who were in attendance, Las Vegas also hosted players to participate in rookie minicamp tryouts. Two non-rookies ended up walking away from the minicamp with new contracts. 
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, one of those players was veteran linebacker Jaylon Smith. Projected to be a top five pick late in his junior season at Notre Dame, Smith’s NFL career hit its first speed bump before it even started when he suffered tears to his ACL and LCL in the Fighting Irish’s bowl game in 2016. The injury dropped him into the second round, as he was sure to miss his entire rookie season. The Cowboys were the ones who took him, in part because their team physician was the one who performed Smith’s knee surgery and was confident in his ability to recover.
Dallas wanted to be cautious in bringing him back from injury, but an injury to starter Anthony Hitchens forced him into the starting lineup to start his sophomore campaign. After Hitchens returned from injury, Smith was coming off the bench for the remainder of the year. He opened up the following season as the full-time starter, having fully recovered, and delivered 417 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, and eight sacks in the next three seasons. These efforts resulted in a Pro Bowl selection and a five-year, $64MM contract extension.
Following his extension, Smith received several criticisms in 2020 about his impact on a defense that allowed the 23rd-most total yards and the 28th-most points. After offseason wrist surgery in 2021, Smith was released by the Cowboys when he declined to waive his 2022 injury guarantee contract clause. The emergence of a rookie Micah Parsons and the transition of Keanu Neal into a linebacker made the release easier to sustain.
Smith almost immediately signed with the Packers but was released a month later after only appearing in only two games and playing only 27 snaps. Near the end of the regular season, Smith signed with the Giants’ practice squad. He stayed in New York in 2022, starting 11 games for Big Blue, but found himself to be a free agent again following the season. In 2023, he spent time on the practice squads of the Saints, Raiders, and Steelers. The only game he appeared in that year was in Las Vegas.
He’ll now return to the Raiders after not signing anywhere during the 2024 NFL season. Las Vegas improved their linebacking corps this offseason in free agency, adding Devin White and Elandon Roberts. Smith will add some veteran depth to the group at the very least.
According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, the other non-rookie who signed after a successful minicamp tryout was safety Jonathan Sutherland. An undrafted free agent two years ago out of Penn State, Sutherland signed with the Seahawks to enter the league. He spent his rookie season on Seattle’s practice squad but was waived before the start of last year. He signed to the Giants in the preseason but was ultimately waived with an injury designation. He’ll get his chance with his third team in as many years this offseason.
