Raiders add roster depth with intriguing preseason signing

The Las Vegas Raiders are adding veteran defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on Saturday afternoon. The signing gives Las Vegas an experienced option ahead of its next preseason matchup with the Houston Texans.

Fatukasi, 31, enters his ninth NFL season after spending the past two years with the Texans. His 2025 campaign was limited to four games because of a shoulder injury, and he finished that season with 1.5 sacks and one tackle for loss. In 2024, he appeared in 11 games for Houston, producing one sack, four tackles for loss and three quarterback hits.

The former sixth-round selection has built an extensive NFL resume since the New York Jets drafted him 180th overall in 2018. Fatukasi has played 90 career games and made 64 starts. Across his career, he has accumulated 195 tackles, 28 tackles for loss and seven sacks from the nose tackle position.

Fatukasi spent four seasons with New York before moving to the Jacksonville Jaguars for two seasons and then the Texans for the previous two campaigns. With Jacksonville, he signed a three-year, $30 million contract in 2022 that included $20 million guaranteed at signing after ranking third in run stop win rate during his final Jets contract year. He was released by the Jaguars in 2024 as the team reduced costs before their extension-heavy offseason.

The Raiders’ decision comes after their 27-14 preseason loss to the Arizona Cardinals, a game in which the Cardinals’ passers opened 16-for-16. While Maxx Crosby did not play, the interior defensive line proved to be a major area of concern. Before Fatukasi’s arrival, the interior group included Adam Butler, Jonah Laulu, Benito Jones, JJ Pegues, Gary Smith and Brandon Cleveland, with Tonka Hemingway and Thomas Booker also taking interior snaps from defensive end.

Fatukasi’s addition gives Las Vegas a 6-foot-4, 320-pound nose tackle capable of adding experience and size to the middle. The Raiders have also placed linebacker Brennan Jackson on injured reserve to create the roster spot.

The timing could provide Fatukasi an immediate opportunity, as Las Vegas is scheduled to hold joint practices with Houston this week before its next preseason game against the Texans.