The first day of training camp has been a very busy one for the Las Vegas Raiders. The team has made several roster additions, including former Pro Bowl safety Jamal Adams.
However, to make room for all the new players, Las Vegas had to move on from four players who were on the roster. The Raiders announced that they waived cornerback Mello Dotson, wide receivers Zakhari Franklin and Key'Shawn Smith, and linebacker Jailin Walker.
#RAIDERS ROSTER MOVES:
— Raiders PR (@RAIDERS_PR) July 22, 2025
Signed the following players:
- S Jamal Adams
- WR Phillip Dorsett II
- G Atonio Mafi
- WR Seth Williams
- S JT Woods
Waived the following players:
- CB Mello Dotson
- WR Zakhari Franklin
- WR Key'Shawn Smith
- LB Jailin Walker
All four of the players the Raiders waived were rookie undrafted free agents who the team signed this offseason. They have chosen to replace them with veterans.
The Raiders were set to be one of the youngest teams in the NFL this season, but it seems like they would like to add some veteran talent. None of the released players were standing out in camp earlier in the offseason.
Franklin was an interesting player to watch. He had 4,038 receiving yards in college, but did that over the course of six years. The Raiders already have so much youth at wide receiver, so keeping a guy like Franklin wasn't necessary.
The same goes for cornerback. Dotson had an uphill battle making the roster, considering how much young talent the Raiders have at the position.
This goes to show that Las Vegas isn't afraid to keep tinkering with the roster during training camp. Head coach Pete Carroll wants to win a lot of games this offseason, and not everybody is going to be up to the task. He's only going to want players on the roster who are.
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