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Thomas Harper

Raiders Work Out Terrell Edmunds, Expect Lonnie Johnson Jr. To Return During Season

August 6th, 2025 at 12:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

Already authorizing significant changes in their secondary after losing the likes of Tre’von Moehrig, Nate Hobbs and Marcus Epps in free agency, the Raiders will see one of their imports sidelined for a while.

Lonnie Johnson Jr. sustained a broken fibula during a weekend scrimmage, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore. Although Johnson has not started a game since 2021, the former second-round pick had been a key backup during a journeyman career. He had also been seeing regular time with the Raiders’ top defense, moving to safety when Jeremy Chinn would slide into the slot in sub-packages.

This represented a bump for Johnson, who has combined to play 300 defensive snaps over the past three seasons, but this is not viewed as a season-ending injury. Pete Carroll said (via Bonsignore) a genuine belief exists Johnson will be able to return this season, “sooner rather than later.” Yes, Carroll was known as rather optimistic regarding injuries during his Seahawks tenure, but Johnson having a chance to return from a broken leg in-season is certainly notable news for the Las Vegas secondary.

Johnson, 29, has played for four teams over the past four seasons. That does not include a nonplaying stint with the Chiefs, who acquired him via trade in 2022. Johnson spent three years with the Texans before migrating to the Titans (2022), Saints (2023) and Panthers (’24). The Raiders added him on a one-year, $1.69MM deal that came with just $175K guaranteed.

The small guarantee would give the Raiders a minimal dead money penalty to move on after this injury, but for now, Johnson does not appear likely to be cut as a result of this major setback. The Raiders can either use one of their allotted two IR-return designations before setting their 53-man roster to stash Johnson, but such a move would count against the team’s eight-activation total. The other option would be carrying Johnson through to their 53-man roster and then placing him on IR, retaining some flexibility in the event the team passes on using an injury activation on the nomadic DB during the season.

The Raiders will need some help at safety, even in a depth role. On that note, Terrell Edmunds stopped through Las Vegas for a Tuesday workout, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. Edmunds, 28, has drifted off the starter track since a five-year Steelers stint (75 starts) ended after the 2022 season. While Edmunds made it back to Pittsburgh for a 2024 cameo, he had since been primarily a backup with the Eagles, Titans and Jaguars.

Vegas signed Chinn to work as a starter and re-signed Isaiah Pola-Mao to do the same. Thomas Harper and Christopher Smith filled in for Johnson after the injury, per Bonsignore. Smith is a 2023 fifth-round pick, while Harper — a 2024 Chargers UDFA — joined the Raiders via waiver claim last August.

Raiders Waive DT Byron Young

August 28th, 2024 at 9:07pm CST by Ben Levine

The Raiders moved on from a recent draft pick today. Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the team has waived 2023 third-round defensive tackle Byron Young. The team also signed cornerback Darnay Holmes, per Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The team wasn’t done adding, as the Raiders claimed defensive tackle Jonah Laulu off waivers from the Colts and safety Thomas Harper off waivers from the Chargers, according to ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez.

Following a standout college career at Alabama, Young was selected by the Raiders with the No. 70 pick in the 2023 draft. He barely saw the field as a rookie, appearing in only 99 defensive snaps in six games. Still, after having to start his first training camp on PUP, there was hope he’d take a step forward with a full offseason program. Instead, the defensive lineman will have to resume his career elsewhere.

He’ll be replaced on the roster by Laulu, who was cut by the Colts yesterday. The rookie seventh-round pick split his college career between Hawaii and Oklahoma. The team also added Harper, a UDFA out of Oklahoma State University and Notre Dame.

Holmes’ stint with the Giants came to an end earlier this week. The former fourth-round pick had spent his entire career in New York, starting 11 of his 54 appearances. Despite getting into a career-high 16 games in 2023, the cornerback was limited to a career-low 123 defensive snaps. He re-signed with the organization this past offseason, but he didn’t end up making it through final cuts with the Giants.

In more corresponding moves, the team waived rookie CB M.J. Devonshire and placed CB Brandon Facyson on injured reserve (per Gutierrez). Facyson was at one time competing for the team’s CB2 role, but the cornerback was sidelined for most of the preseason with an undisclosed injury. The former UDFA was limited to only three appearances with the Raiders in 2023, but he had 55 tackles during his first stint with the organization in 2021.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: AFC West

August 28th, 2024 at 2:34pm CST by Sam Robinson

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs and Raiders moves are noted below.

Denver Broncos

Signed:

Claimed:

Signed to practice squad:

Kansas City Chiefs

Signed:

Claimed:

  • CB Eric Scott Jr.

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Las Vegas Raiders

Signed:

Claimed:

Waived:

Placed on IR: 

Signed to practice squad:

Los Angeles Chargers

Signed:

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Chargers Waive RB Isaiah Spiller, T Alex Leatherwood; Get Down To 53

August 27th, 2024 at 7:35pm CST by Ely Allen

The Chargers made their way down to 53 players today with a number of waives and releases:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

  • OLB Chris Collins
  • T Tyler McLellan
  • OLB Chris Rumph
  • IOL Bucky Williams

Placed on IR (designated for return):

There aren’t too many surprises here. Of the veterans, Parham fell victim to the addition of two veteran receiving options, and Quarterman was a long-time special teamer.

Michigan wide receiver Johnson was the only drafted rookie who failed to make the roster after being selected in the seventh round. While no undrafted rookies made the roster either, McLellan and Williams will stick around on the IR, where they will remain out for the year. Niemann will have the option to be activated after four games.

The biggest cuts we otherwise see are Spiller, who got some run as a depth option at running back last year, and Leatherwood. Leatherwood, the former first-round pick out of Alabama, continues to struggle to find his place in the NFL.

Chargers Agree To Terms With 21 UDFAs

May 1st, 2024 at 7:27pm CST by Ely Allen

The Chargers’ roster is set to look very different in 2024. With the departure of key players such as Austin Ekeler, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Gerald Everett, Kenneth Murray, Austin Johnson, and several others, Los Angeles had plenty of room on the roster for this summer, even after selecting a nine-man class in the 2024 NFL Draft. To fill out the roster, the Chargers turned to these undrafted free agents:

Barnhart brings an intriguing versatility to a new Chargers offense led by offensive coordinator Greg Roman. Roman loves a guy who can play all over the line (see Patrick Mekari in Baltimore), and Barnhart started games at every offensive line spot but center during his time with the national champion Wolverines. In the team’s championship-winning season alone, Barnhart started eight games at right tackle, four games at left tackle, and three games at right guard en route to second-team All-Big Ten honors.

Heins is another great fit for a Roman offense. Helping the Jackrabbits to back-to-back FCS national championships, Heins established himself as a starter due to his in-line blocking abilities. While, in his three years as a full-time starter, he only racked up 989 receiving yards, he also tallied 17 touchdowns in that same stretch.

The team adds two intriguing options at safety, as well. Harper started for the Fighting Irish as a transfer after four years at Oklahoma State. He didn’t make may plays on balls in the air but showed versatility as a nickel option and a blitzer. Dent, a one-time five-star recruit as a junior in high school, has tons of athleticism, he’s just never been able to convert it into on-field production.

Ben Levine contributed to this post.