The Raiders have already made one of those quiet roster moves that tells you plenty about where the offensive line stands now. Las Vegas claimed former Seattle Seahawks guard Bryce Cabeldue earlier this week, and the corresponding cut was Atonio Mafi, who was then claimed by the Tennessee Titans.
That detail matters. A year ago, the Raiders were scraping for answers up front and finished with the league’s worst protection and run-blocking in 2025, a mess tied in part to Brennan Carroll and also to shaky personnel. Now, with Klint Kubiak and Rick Dennison in place and several significant offseason investments added to the mix, the picture looks very different heading into the 2026 NFL season.
What stands out most is how other teams are now valuing Las Vegas’ leftover offensive linemen. Mafi barely made the Raiders’ initial 53-man roster, yet a team early in the waiver order moved quickly to take him. Once the Raiders let him go, he went straight onto the Titans’ active roster.
Jordan Meredith followed a similar path. He was on the edge of the roster at cutdown time before the Raiders dealt him to the New York Jets for a late-round pick swap. That’s not a blockbuster return, but it does say something when other teams are willing to trade for or claim the players Las Vegas could afford to move on from.
Neither Mafi nor Meredith was locked into a Week 1 role, and neither was expected to carry a major workload. Still, the fact that both were attractive enough to be claimed or traded for suggests they can help somewhere. The difference is that the Raiders no longer needed them.
That becomes even clearer when you look at where last year’s depth pieces ended up. Alex Cappa, who logged real snaps at guard and center for Las Vegas, still hasn’t signed now that the season is underway. Will Putnam got extended run late in the 2025 season, but he isn’t on the active roster; he remains on the Raiders’ practice squad, though the team has repeatedly looked to upgrade over him and he won’t play unless things go sideways.
Stone Forsythe is another telling case. He started at left tackle for the final three quarters of last season, but this year he isn’t even starting for a Carolina Panthers team that has both of its starting offensive tackles out. And then there are Mafi and Meredith, both of whom played for the Raiders last year and both of whom were moved off the roster.
Put it all together, and the line looks better from top to bottom - starters, backups, and coaching staff included. The fact that Las Vegas could let go of players who immediately landed on other active rosters says plenty about how much the group has changed.
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