The Raiders enter the 2026 season with a very different look than the league’s worst team from a year ago, but that doesn’t mean every piece on the roster is locked in place.
Las Vegas has already built some real buzz around young cornerstone talent like Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty, and the franchise used the No. 1 pick on Fernando Mendoza after last season’s collapse. The front office also stayed busy in free agency, adding Kirk Cousins, Nakobe Dean, Tyler Linderbaum, Connor Heyward, Jalen Nailor, Kwity Paye, and Quay Walker.
That kind of activity points to a team that expects to move forward quickly. Still, the Raiders are early in the rebuild, and that leaves room for a few surprise trade candidates if the right offer comes along.
Eric Stokes is one name worth watching. He came back on a three-year, $30 million deal, but that doesn’t make him untouchable.
The former 2021 first-round pick of the Green Bay Packers had a strong first season in Las Vegas, finishing with five passes defended and 53 combined tackles. Even so, the Raiders have a crowded young secondary, with Treydan Stukes, Hezekiah Masses, Dalton Johnson, and Jermod McCoy all drafted in the 2026 NFL Draft and able to play safety or cornerback.
Moving Stokes would bring back value and clear a path for those younger defensive backs.
Cousins is another obvious name, even if the fit looked strange when the Raiders handed him a five-year, $172 million contract while also being positioned to draft a Heisman Trophy winner first overall. The plan, though, is pretty clear: only $20 million of the deal is fully guaranteed, and Cousins is there to bridge the gap until Mendoza is ready.
If Mendoza gets up to speed quickly, or if Cousins loses the starting job before the season even starts, Las Vegas could shop him to a quarterback-needy team. His veteran experience also makes him the kind of insurance policy contenders want when injuries hit.
Then there’s Maxx Crosby, who is not exactly sneaky in the traditional sense. He’s one of the best players in football and arguably the biggest name on the trade market.
Crosby was dealt to the Baltimore Ravens for two first-round picks at the start of the offseason, only for the move to be rescinded after he failed his physical. That alone showed the Raiders were willing to move on.
Crosby has made the Pro Bowl in each of the last five seasons and has had 20-plus tackles for a loss three times in that span. Teams around the league would love to add his nonstop motor, but so far nobody has matched the price Baltimore was ready to pay.
If that kind of offer comes back around, Las Vegas would likely jump at it.
In Other News...
Raiders Already Have One Painful 2025 Roster Miss To Explain
The Raiders spent real energy this spring trying to uncover roster value in the undrafted free-agent market, but the early returns on that 2025 class have been rough. Several of the most notable additions never made it to the active roster, and names like Mello Dotson, Jah Joyner, Tank Booker and Jarrod Hufford have already fallen off the pro-football map or landed elsewhere after failing to stick in Las Vegas.
For a team that has spent years searching for cheap depth and hidden contributors, that kind of turnover is more than a footnote. Carter Runyon is the one UDFA from that group who has actually advanced with the Raiders, while the rest of the class has splintered into different paths, including alternative leagues for some. It leaves the front office with an uncomfortable early reminder that not every low-cost swing turns into a useful piece, even when the team thinks it has found a few. [Read more 🡒]
5 Quiet Raiders Additions Could Matter More Than Fans Think
The Raiders did not make a splashy headline-grabbing run through the offseason, but a few of their quieter additions could end up mattering just as much once camp opens. Benito Jones, Spencer Burford and Thomas Booker IV all bring different kinds of value, from veteran steadiness to interior line competition, while draft pick Hezekiah Masses and undrafted free agent Cian Slone give the roster a little more depth and a few more paths to usefulness.
Burford is the name to watch on the offensive line because there is a real opening for him to push into a bigger role, and Booker already looks like the kind of player who can help a defense without much fanfare. Masses gives Las Vegas another young defensive back to develop, and Slone is the sort of camp body who can turn into something more if he makes enough noise in the summer. None of those moves changed the leagues view of the Raiders overnight, but together they may end up looking a lot smarter than they did on the day they were announced. [Read more 🡒]