Raiders To Sign DT Foley Fatukasi

Foley Fatukasi has secured a path to a ninth NFL season. The veteran defensive tackle is signing with the Raiders, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports.

A 2018 Jets draftee, Fatukasi has spent the past four years in the AFC South — two with the Jaguars, two with the Texans. He will attempt to bolster Las Vegas’ interior D-line. The Raiders have since announced the move, and they placed linebacker Brennan Jackson on IR to clear a roster spot.

This represents a comeback opportunity for the former sixth-round pick, who spent most of last season on IR. Fatukasi’s second Texans slate ended after four games due to a shoulder injury. A Jacksonville cap casualty in 2024, Fatukasi played out two one-year contracts in Houston. He signed a deal worth $5.13MM in 2024 and another worth $3MM last year.

DeMeco Ryans assembled a scary Texans defense last season, and the group was heavy on experience up front. Fatukasi was part of that operation, but only briefly. After making 11 starts on a solid Houston defense in 2024, he missed most of the team’s ascent last season.

Fatukasi, 31, commanded a nice Jaguars contract as a 2022 free agent. After ranking third in run stop win rate in his Jets contract year, Fatukasi — who finished with 18 tackles for loss from 2019-21 — signed a three-year deal worth $30MM. That Trent Baalke-authorized agreement — one of several the Jags made in the aftermath of the Urban Meyer firing — brought $20MM guaranteed at signing. By 2024, however, the Jags were cutting costs ahead of an extension-heavy offseason. Fatukasi was among those let go, and his earning power has not approached that 2022 level since.

For his career, Fatukasi is a 64-game starter. The UConn product has done well given his draft slot (No. 180) and will join a Raiders team breaking in yet another new coaching staff.

Las Vegas has plenty invested at the EDGE posts, with Malcolm Koonce and Kwity Paye committing to the team during the window when it looked like Maxx Crosby was Baltimore-bound. Third-round pick Keyron Crawford rounds out that quartet. Inside, however, the team is much thinner. Adam Butler remains under contract — a three-year, $16.5MM accord — but Pro Football Focus graded three other Raiders interior D-line cogs (Benito Jones, Thomas Booker, Jonah Laulu) outside the top 100 at the position.