3 surprise Raiders 2026 preseason roster cuts to watch out for before Week 1

The Las Vegas Raiders could be a surprisingly fun team to watch this fall. Las Vegas spent a lot of resources this offseason upgrading their defense and creating a brand new quarterback room. Now they are poised to establish themselves in the AFC West during Klint Kubiak’s first season as head coach.

The next big task in Vegas is to pick the best 53 players to make the final roster. That should be difficult after the Raiders injected the roster with so much fresh talent this offseason.

Which players are in the most danger of not making the final roster? And is there enough time left in the preseason from them to save themselves?

Three Raiders player stand out as potential cut candidates ahead of the regular season.

Is there space on the final roster for QB Aidan O’Connell?

The Raiders went into the offseason determined to fix their quarterback problem once and for all. They spared no expense and improved the position both now and in the future.

Vegas brought in veteran Kirk Cousins to become a bridge starter and mentor to rookie QB Fernando Mendoza. Now the Raiders have a talented rookie to develop and an established veteran to pilot the ship in Week 1.

But where does this leave Aidan O’Connell?

O’Connell, who is affectionately nicknamed AOC, looks to be in some danger after those offseason moves.

AOC impressed during his rookie season, logging 2,218 passing yards with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions back in 2023. Those are not great stats for playing in 11 games, but the Raiders were a mess back then. Unfortunately, AOC’s productivity has gotten worse in each season after 2023.

That itself is a huge indictment of O’Connell’s ability to become a plus starter in the NFL. The opportunity was right there for the taking, but AOC could not convince two different coaching staffs to make him a full-time starter. If it wasn’t working then, why would it work now with Mendoza and Cousins in town?

Now the ultimate question becomes: do the Raiders want to keep three quarterbacks on the final roster? If the answer is no, then O’Connell will be in serious danger of being cut just before the regular season.

The Raiders could easily choose to free up another roster spot at a different position instead of keeping AOC on the team.

The best outcome for O’Connell could be to stay in Vegas but on the practice squad.

The Raiders have a terrible wide receiver room. But do they need Dont’e Thornton Jr.?

The NFL is often call the “not for long” league for a reason. Even young players can lose their position in the blink of an eye. That’s exactly what Thornton should be worried about.

Las Vegas drafted Thornton in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. He logged 10 receptions for 135 receiving yards during his rookie season in 2025.

Just like AOC, Thornton has not handled adversity well early in his career. Case in point, Thornton did not seize the opportunity to gain a significant target share during the 2025 season. The Raiders did not have many good receiving options, so nothing was really keeping Thornton from rising to the occasion.

Vegas did not make many additions to the receiver room this offseason, though they did bring in Jalen Nailor during NFL free agency. That means the opportunity was still there this summer for Thornton to gain ground, especially with a new coaching staff and quarterback room. Unfortunately, the opposite has happened.

Thornton is now listed below Nailor, Tre Tucker, and Jack Bech on the depth chart. He is competing with Malik Benson, Noah Brown, and a host of other backups for a roster spot.

If Thornton cannot fight his way into the starting lineup, then maybe he doesn’t have what it takes to stick in Vegas for the long term.

Don’t be surprised if he ends up getting cut following the preseason.

Isaiah Pola-Mao should be worried about Treydan Stukes stealing his job

Of all the players on this list, Pola-Mao would be the most shocking to actually get cut. But it is easy to see how it could happen.

The veteran free safety entered the offseason as an obvious starter in 2026. However, the addition of Treydan Stukes in the 2026 NFL Draft should have been a wake up call for Pola-Mao.

Pola-Mao is in the final year of his current contract. That by itself makes him a possible cut candidate because it would be extremely easy to move on from him.

Beyond that, the new Raiders regime did not bring in Pola-Mao in the first place. Instead, they used a second-round pick on player who could be his immediate replacement.

All things being equal, the Raiders may prefer to play Stukes in the slot instead of free safety. But with Taron Johnson poised to start in the slot, Stukes could be forced to play free safety simply to get on the field.

Pola-Mao has been no slouch, especially when given significant snaps over the last two years.

Ultimately, the future is far more important than the present for the Raiders right now. That, more than anything else, could cost Pola-Mao his starting job or his spot on the final roster.

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