The Raiders’ practice squad may end up mattering a lot more than it looks right now.
Las Vegas has 17 players stashed there, and a few of them could work their way into real Sunday roles during the 2026 NFL season. NFL clubs can elevate two practice squad players each week, and on the fourth call-up, they have to sign that player to the active roster. For a young roster still taking shape, that kind of movement can reshape the depth chart fast.
Three names stand out as the best bets to stick.
Brandon Cleveland is the kind of developmental interior lineman teams lean on when the run game gets serious. John Spytek didn’t address that spot until the seventh round, taking Cleveland with pick No.
- Even with that late selection, there’s a path to playing time because the Raiders need help inside after allowing 380 rushing yards and a touchdown in the preseason.
Cleveland showed enough in exhibition action to stay in the conversation. He finished with five tackles, and three of them came in the final preseason game.
The Raiders also added Foley Fatukasi after their opener, and he made the 53-man roster, which likely pushed Cleveland down to the practice squad. Fatukasi gives Las Vegas a proven 31-year-old run stopper, but if defensive coordinator Rob Leonard wants more beef against a run-heavy opponent, Cleveland could be the next man up.
His final season at North Carolina State also showed some disruption ability, with seven tackles for loss and two sacks.
Azeez Ojulari is the most obvious practice squad player who could force his way onto the field. At 26, with 67 pressures and 22 sacks over five seasons, he looks like an active-roster player in waiting. The Falcons let him go before cutdown day, but the Raiders can still tap into a pass rusher who has produced at least 5.5 sacks in three of his five seasons.
The concern is durability. Ojulari has missed at least six games in four different seasons, and last year he sat out 14 games before the Eagles put him on injured reserve in November because of a hamstring injury.
Even so, he has the clearest route to snaps among the practice squad group, especially with rookie third-rounder Keyron Crawford on season-ending injured reserve. Behind Maxx Crosby, Kwity Paye and Malcolm Koonce, Ojulari can be deployed on obvious passing downs.
There’s also a familiar face factor here, since he could line up with former Georgia teammates Quay Walker, Nakobe Dean and Eric Stokes.
Greedy Vance rounds out the group as a slot defender who feels like he’s right on the edge of the roster picture. He fits the mold of a player who looks useful in limited work but keeps landing just outside the active lineup, similar to former Raiders slot cornerback Tyler Hall.
Las Vegas plans to move its defensive backs around a lot, and that flexibility may have squeezed Vance out during final cuts. He’s best inside, but Taron Johnson, Jeremy Chinn and Treydan Stukes are all expected to take turns there. That said, the Raiders could still call on Vance if they run into pass-heavy opponents and need Stukes locked in at center field.
Chinn had trouble in the slot last season, and Pro Football Focus says he allowed four touchdowns and a 127.5 passer rating there. Vance is entering his second year, and his chance is to become Johnson’s top backup in the slot.
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