The Raiders’ decision to move on from Jonah Laulu says plenty about where this defensive tackle room stands right now.
Laulu was waived earlier this week in a corresponding move to the activation of wide receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr., and while the roster shuffle mattered, the bigger message may have been the trust Las Vegas is putting in JJ Pegues and Tim Keenan III. Both young tackles were active in Week 7 instead of Laulu, and that choice helped explain why his time with the Silver and Black ended when it did.
For a while, Laulu looked like he had carved out a real spot in the rotation. He had been claimed on waivers in 2024 and became a key part of the interior group, though he was never a player this current regime brought in.
Even so, the signs started showing up early. Tonka Hemingway took his starting job as soon as spring practices opened, and Laulu’s usage kept shrinking from there.
After starting 22 of 34 games since his return to Las Vegas, and 15 of 17 last year, Laulu played only 50 snaps across the first three games this season. That was the same total he had been getting on a weekly basis in 2025. Then came Week 4, when he was a healthy scratch.
The Raiders gave him another 50 snaps combined in Weeks 5 and 6, and he did manage 0.5 sacks against the New England Patriots. But then Week 7 brought another healthy scratch, and by then the direction was hard to miss.
John Spytek could have cleared room for Dont'e Thornton Jr. by moving on from other players, including safety Tristin McCollum, cornerback Darrell Luter Jr. or wide receiver Dareke Young. Those guys have either been inactive nearly every week or have underperformed in the same position group as Thornton Jr. Instead, the Raiders chose Laulu, which tells you how they feel about their defensive tackle depth.
Laulu has already landed with the Tennessee Titans, where he joins a group filled with former Raiders players and executives. His path to snaps may be wider there too, especially with Jeffery Simmons having been traded to the Chicago Bears on Thursday morning.
Raiders fans may have viewed Laulu as something close to a fringe starter based on his previous work, but that wasn’t the role he held under Klint Kubiak. He had some useful moments and a strong start to 2025, yet Las Vegas clearly sees more upside in the players it has invested in more recently.
Pegues got the Week 4 game-day nod over Laulu, then did it again in Week 7. Last Sunday, Keenan III also dressed after being elevated from the practice squad on Saturday, giving the Raiders not just one but two young defensive tackles a shot in Laulu’s place.
Keenan III had his highs and lows, but it was a solid first NFL outing. Pegues made his presence felt too, finishing with two tackles and a forced fumble in 16 snaps. Those are the kinds of flashes that can sway a staff trying to sort out an underperforming interior line.
There’s also a simple reality at play: Pegues was drafted by Spytek, and Keenan III arrived only a month or two ago through Spytek and Kubiak. When the margin is tight, teams usually lean toward the players they brought in themselves.
Pegues and Keenan III also bring a different kind of body type to the mix. Both can line up in the A gap and help as run-stuffers, especially Keenan III. Laulu never really filled that role for the Raiders, and with 3-tech options like Hemingway, Adam Butler, Foley Fatukasi and Thomas Booker IV already in the picture, there wasn’t much room left for him.
How Las Vegas uses Pegues and Keenan III from here will be worth watching, because their path to playing time has opened up. Laulu’s release was surprising on the surface, but the Raiders’ actions made their stance pretty clear.
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