After a Week 8 win that snapped a four-game skid, the Raiders are back in a better place at 4-4, and the noise around the team has shifted with it. The locker room energy is up, the fan base is feeling itself again, and with the trade deadline looming, there’s still plenty left to sort through around Las Vegas.
That doesn’t mean the road ahead is soft. The Raiders are headed to San Francisco next, then come home for the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks before another road trip to Denver. It’s a demanding run, but for the moment the mood has turned.
One of the quieter roster moves came Tuesday afternoon, when Las Vegas signed defensive end Anthony Goodlow to the practice squad and cut offensive tackle Darian Kinnard loose from that spot. Goodlow spent five years at Tulsa and his final college season at Oklahoma State before going undrafted in 2024. He originally landed with the Los Angeles Rams as a UDFA and has since spent time with the Cardinals, Steelers and Panthers before arriving in Las Vegas.
Though he was listed as a defensive end when the Panthers had him this preseason, Goodlow split his snaps between defensive tackle and defensive end, and in some stretches played more tackle than end. That’s been the pattern for him in each of the last two preseasons, too. In the regular season, he has appeared in three NFL games, all with Arizona last year, and finished with three tackles, including one for loss, plus a quarterback hit over 36 defensive snaps.
Kinnard, meanwhile, was a recent addition who never got onto the field.
Mark Davis also made it clear he is not pushing Fernando Mendoza onto the field before the team is ready. In comments to CNBC, Davis said, “From me, there’s absolutely no pressure whatsoever,” and added, “I’m really happy with the way it is with Fernando right now.”
Davis went further, saying Mendoza has been a sponge and is working with Tom Brady on certain things while also learning from Kirk Cousins. He also pointed to the danger of rushing a quarterback too quickly.
“Today, there’s a lot of pressure put on teams when they draft a guy number one that, you know, you’ve got to play him right away,” Davis said. “I’ve seen quarterbacks get fast-tracked onto the field, and they may do well, but they don’t learn all the intricacies of footwork and everything else that it takes. So they’re limited in their development maybe throughout their career.”
Around the league, a few former Raiders are making headlines for different reasons. Daniel Carlson was released by the Saints after missing two field goals in two weeks. Jakorian Bennett was cut by the Eagles, with John Spytek’s preseason deal sending him to Philadelphia for Thomas Booker IV now looking like a clear win for Las Vegas, since Booker IV has become a rotational interior piece while Bennett has not found traction because of injuries and other issues.
Alex Bachman was released by the Rams after being elevated to the active roster during a stretch of injuries at receiver, but he didn’t make much of an impact and Los Angeles got healthier at the position. Cam Miller, who Miami once poached from the Raiders’ practice squad late last season, has now landed on Green Bay’s practice squad after spending a few months out of the league.
Jack Jones is also getting another look. He was released by the 49ers just days ago and has since visited the Panthers, who are dealing with injuries at cornerback and are trying to stay in the mix in a weak NFC South.
There were also several former Raiders who got tryouts elsewhere: Carter Bradley and Jamari Thrash with the Cardinals, Corey Rucker with the Dolphins, Isaiah Jatta with the Vikings, and Kyu Blu Kelly and David Long with the 49ers.
A few other notes stood out. CJ Gardner-Johnson was released by the Bills not long after he spit on Brock Bowers, an incident that already cost him a one-game suspension. And Rob Leonard’s defense is flirting with the wrong kind of history: if the Raiders allow 30 or more points against the 49ers, they would tie the NFL record with six straight games giving up at least 30.
On the brighter side, Kubiak’s offense has been excellent on third down. Las Vegas leads the NFL in EPA on third down, and it’s not close. The ideal setup is to avoid third down altogether, but when the Raiders get there, they’ve handled it.
The Week 8 individual honors also had a few clear standouts. Trey Zuhn III earned the biggest promotion after going from a player who saw only a handful of snaps most weeks to a full-time starter, and he delivered. Mike Washington Jr. was the obvious alternative, but his role had already been growing before he became the featured back.
The biggest surprise performance went to Jalen Nailor, who turned in four catches for 38 yards and a touchdown. Each of those receptions mattered.
And after a rough stretch, Cousins looked sharp against New York, carving up the Jets’ secondary with precise throws and playing like a Pro Bowl-level quarterback. That showing, at least for now, quieted the Mendoza chatter for another week or two.
In Other News...
Raiders Rookie Rankings Show Who Is Already Forcing A Bigger Role
The first half of the Raiders rookie class has already started to sort itself out, and the early returns are giving the front office and coaching staff a clearer picture of who can be part of the long-term plan. Through the first eight games, the evaluation is less about final grades than about impact, playing time and how quickly each newcomer has earned trust in real roles. Treydan Stukes, Mike Washington Jr. and Zeke Masses have all shown enough to be part of that conversation, with each rookie contributing in a different way as the season has unfolded.
What makes the rankings interesting is how much they reflect opportunity as much as raw production. Some rookies have carved out steady snaps, others have flashed enough to keep their stock moving, and the group as a whole is starting to define where the Raiders future depth may come from. It is still early enough for the order to change, but the bigger point is already clear: a few first-year players are making it hard for Las Vegas to keep them on the margins for much longer. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Trade Deadline Just Got More Complicated Than Fans Expected
The Raiders have spent the first half of the season staring at a familiar problem in the defensive backfield, where the young group has shown both promise and growing pains through the first eight games. Head coach Kubiak pointed to that development after the difficult showing against the Jets, a reminder that the secondary remains one of the clearest areas for help as the trade deadline approaches.
At the same time, the roster picture is getting more complicated because the Raiders have a limited number of clear trade chips to work with. One of those pieces is Maxx Crosby, while the other is Jackson Powers-Johnson, whose standing could shift depending on how the line settles in front of him. If the Raiders decide they need to address the back end before the deadline, they may have to weigh present need against the long-term value of the players they are willing to move. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders May Have Found The Receiver This Offense Was Missing
Jalen Nailors best game in a Raiders uniform came at a timely moment in the win over the New York Jets, when the receiver looked more and more like a piece this offense can actually count on. He was targeted four times, caught all four passes for 38 yards, and gave Las Vegas a much-needed spark as the passing game searched for answers.
Kirk Cousins and head coach Klint Kubiak both singled out Nailor afterward, pointing to the way he has improved and the opportunities he has earned. For a Raiders offense still trying to settle into a rhythm, that kind of trust matters, and Nailors performance offered a glimpse of a receiver who may be carving out a bigger role as the season moves on. [Read more 🡒]