Las Vegas Raiders adding UNLV QB Hajj-Malik Williams bears bad news for another practice squad player

The Las Vegas Raiders hit the UDFA market hard, getting some really good players that it feels like the rest of the NFL forgot to draft.

Now, I'm not here to say this guy should have been drafted, but the pickup of former UNLV QB Hajj-Malik Williams is a sneaky one. And, it should have a former practice squad player from last year, getting nervous.

It certainly bears bad news for him. But first, who is Haajj-Malik Williams?

Raiders sign UNLV QB Hajj-Malik Williams

Williams is the recently signed potential practice squad player at the QB position, who happened to already be in town. Williams played college at Campbell, where he played five seasons, setting program records with 8,326 passing yards and 58 touchdowns. 

In 2023, he threw for 2,597 yards and 19 touchdowns, completing 70% of his passes, earning All-Big South honors and a nomination for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team for his community work.

Williams transferred to UNLV for his final season in 2024. He initially lost the starting job to Matthew Sluka but became the starter after Sluka’s departure over an NIL dispute. In his first start, he led UNLV to a 59-14 win over Fresno State, passing for 182 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 119 yards and a score. 

In 2024, he recorded 1,941 passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns, 680 rushing yards, and nine rushing touchdowns, helping UNLV win its first bowl game since 2000 (24-13 over California in the LA Bowl) and reach a No. 21 national ranking.

After going undrafted in the 2025 NFL Draft, he signed with the Las Vegas Raiders as an undrafted free agent and was invited to their rookie minicamp. Williams gets to stay in the city that he was last in for college, and tries and become somewhat of a hometown hero, even though he is from Georgia.

Hajj Malik Williams may take Carter Bradley's spot on Practice Squad

There are only 16 spots on the practice squad, but that isn't formed until the season gets here. But because of injuries, and they do happen, the Raiders are likely to have a QB on the practice squad. Last year, under that regime, it was Carter Bradley, the UDFA from South Alabama.

And, signing Williams could mean that Bradley's stint as the practice squad QB is over.

And, it's nothing against Bradley, but Williams is going to be known as this regimes guy, where Bradley is the former regimes guy. Not only that but if you ask me, Williams is the better quarterback.