The Raiders are wasting no time sorting through the edges of their roster before training camp really gets rolling.
With rookies already in the building and veterans set to report Tuesday, July 28, Las Vegas used the runway before padded practices begin Wednesday to bring in a batch of free agents for workouts. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Monday morning that veteran running back Miles Sanders was among them, and the NFL’s transaction wire showed seven more names on the list.
Those workouts included receivers KJ Hamler, Deven Thompkins and Casey Washington; linebackers Buddy Johnson, Jamon Johnson and Patrick Johnson; and tight end Zack Kuntz.
Hamler is the most notable name in the group. The former Broncos second-round pick, taken No. 46 overall in 2020, has a direct tie to the Raiders’ front office through assistant GM Brian Stark, who was Denver’s director of college scouting at the time.
Hamler flashed early as a rookie, finishing with 30 catches for 381 yards and three touchdowns, but injuries derailed him after that. He played only 10 games and caught 12 passes for 239 yards over the next two seasons combined, and he hasn’t appeared in an NFL game since 2022.
The Raiders also took a look at two receivers who bring different kinds of value.
Thompkins has made his living more on special teams than on offense. Across four seasons with the Buccaneers, Panthers, Falcons and Bills, he has played 396 offensive snaps and 266 special teams snaps. His receiving line is modest - 29 catches for 162 yards and one touchdown in 22 games - but he’s been a useful gadget player and a proven return man, with 42 punt returns for 368 yards and 45 kick returns for 1,005 yards.
Washington, a sixth-round pick by the Falcons in 2024, hasn’t found much traction in Atlanta. In two seasons, he logged only 190 offensive snaps and seven catches for 108 yards. His special teams work has been limited to kick return duties, not actual return work.
The linebacker group the Raiders brought in says plenty, too. Buddy Johnson, Jamon Johnson and Patrick Johnson all got a look Monday, and that could mean Las Vegas is still searching for depth at the position - or that Nakobe Dean might miss the start of camp.
Buddy Johnson, a 2021 fourth-round pick, has spent four seasons in the league and even overlapped with Raiders linebacker coach Ronell Williams during an offseason stint with the Bears in 2023. In 33 games, he has mostly been a special teams piece, with 633 snaps there and just 39 on defense, and he’s totaled 28 tackles with one for loss. He can help on kick coverage and return, punt coverage and return, and field goal and extra point block.
Jamon Johnson is another former Georgia linebacker on the Raiders’ radar. He played with Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean at Georgia and spent three years with Raiders UDFA Xavian Sorey Jr. there as well.
After going undrafted in 2025, he signed with the Packers and appeared in two games last season, including a start in the finale. In that game, he posted 10 tackles and a pass deflection in 67 snaps.
He also logged 25 special teams snaps across his two appearances.
Patrick Johnson brings a different profile. Drafted by the Eagles in 2021, he has spent time with Philadelphia and the Giants and is more of an edge rusher than an off-ball linebacker.
In 70 career games, he has 47 tackles, 1.0 sacks, six quarterback hits, two tackles for loss, and a forced and recovered fumble. He’s also been a heavy special teams contributor, with 1,328 snaps over five seasons, and that kind of versatility matters for a player fighting to stick at the bottom of the roster.
Kuntz, meanwhile, was a seventh-round pick by the Jets in 2023 and never carved out much of a role there. He played one game in each of his two seasons with New York, with just three offensive snaps and 10 on special teams. He began this offseason with the Dolphins.
For now, the Raiders have a few more names to file away as camp opens and the preseason starts to sort out who really belongs.
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