Raiders make flurry of roster moves after rookie minicamp

Signing Jaylon Smith was just the most notable of the moves made by the Las Vegas Raiders after this past weekend’s rookie minicamp.

According to the team, the Raiders have made several roster moves, signing and cutting six players each.

Along with Smith, the Raiders are bringing along safety Jonathan Sutherland, who also was at rookie minicamp on a tryout deal. Sutherland has yet to appear in a NFL game, but he reunites with head coach Pete Carroll in Las Vegas after he was brought along to the Seattle Seahawks after going undrafted in 2023. Prior to arriving in the NFL, Sutherland spent five seasons with the Penn State Nittany Lions.

The Raiders also signed four more undrafted free agents who tried out with the team. Wide receivers Ketron Jackson Jr. (Baylor) and Key’shawn Smith (SMU), SMU defensive end Jahfari Harvey and Washington State linebacker Wesley Steiner have all signed with the Raiders.

The new faces are replacing draft mistakes of regimes past for the Raiders.

In order to make room for the new signings, the Raiders made the decision to cut six players.

The most notable of the six cuts are defensive tackle Matthew Butler and linebacker Amari Burney, both of whom were waived. Butler was a fifth-round pick of the Raiders in 2022, while Burney was drafted in the sixth round in 2023. With the regime that drafted both players now out the door, they had no protection due to investment and were replaced by newer faces in the lineup.

Joining Butler and Burney on waivers include wide receiver Tyreik McAllister, linebacker Brandon Smith and offensive tackle Dominic Boyd. The Raiders have also released wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson.

The six new signings will join the rest of the team for the start of OTAs on May 19, hoping to earn a coveted 53-man roster spot on the Raiders when August rolls around.