If you read the NFL’s transaction wire on Thursday afternoon, it was clear that something was brewing with the Las Vegas Raiders. Just days after finalizing their 53-man roster and their practice squad, John Spytek and Co. had 16 (!) players at the facility for workouts:

Evan Beernsten, G
Ronnie Bell, WR
David Blay, DT
Stephen Hall, DB
Tre Hawkins, DB
Trey Hill, C
Christian Jones, OT
Josh Kattus, TE
Dasan McCullough, DE
Latrell McCutchin, DB
Evan Neal, G/T
David Ojabo, DE
Azeez Ojulari, DE
B.J. Ojulari, DE
Colby Sorsdal, T
Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR

Clearly, a roster move or two was on the horizon, as the Raiders were focusing on adding depth at wide receiver, defensive end, in the secondary or on the offensive line. Ultimately, the team signed three of these players to its practice squad: Neal, Azeez Ojulari and Bell, and cut three to make room.

Neal was the No. 7 overall pick by the New York Giants in the 2022 NFL Draft, so he obviously lands as the biggest name here. Let’s dive into what Las Vegas is getting with this still-young player, as well as the other two new additions, and who the team lost in the corresponding moves.

Raiders sign former first-rounder Evan Neal and two others to practice squad

The Raiders announced that, in addition to signing Neal, Ojulari and Bell, they were cutting defensive end Jahfari Harvey, tight end Albert Okwuegbunam Jr. and offensive tackle Kamar Missouri from the practice squad. And because these are relatively low-stakes signings, it’s hard not to love them.

Although Neal hasn’t lived up to his billing as a high first-round pick at all, he is not devoid of talent, so he’s worth a flyer on the practice squad. Throughout his career, he’s been a really solid run-blocker, even if he’s taken more than his share of lumps in pass protection.

It’s difficult to know exactly where Neal’s game is right now, as he played right tackle for his first three seasons before transitioning to guard last year. He didn’t play in a regular season game for the Giants in 2025, but Neal looked light-years better at guard this preseason than he did last August.

According to PFF, during the team’s three exhibition games in 2026, Neal earned an overall grade of 83.2. As has been typical for him in his career, he fared better as a run-blocker, earning an 81.5 mark in that category while mustering just a 67.7 score as a pass-blocker, which is still above average.

When a player is taken in the top 10, the thought is that they’ll be transformational. Neal still has that upside in him somewhere, even if things have gone awry in his NFL career thus far. He’s still just 25 years old, so signing Neal to the practice squad as a flyer feels like a win and has no real downside.

Ojulari, like Neal, was a high draft pick by the Giants, as New York took him in Round 2 back in 2021. But he had injury issues dating back to high school and was never able to stay healthy for the team that drafted him, playing just 46 games in four years and doing two season-ending IR stints.

But as a rookie, he mustered 8.0 sacks and 8 tackles for loss while playing all 17 games, and in 29 contests across the next three seasons, Ojulari bagged another 14.0 sacks and 13 tackles for loss. He also has a knack for punching the ball out, as he’s forced four fumbles in his career.

Over the last few seasons, he’s fallen on hard times, as he barely played for the Philadelphia Eagles after suffering yet another season-ending injury. This offseason, he was with the Atlanta Falcons, but he was not kept on their 53-man roster, so he found his way to Las Vegas.

He should already be familiar with some folks in the building, as he played with Brock Bowers, Eric Stokes, Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker at the University of Georgia in college. The Bulldog influence remains strong at Raiders HQ.

Lastly, Ronnie Bell was a late-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers in the year that Klint Kubiak was the passing game coordinator there, so that’s a solid connection. Plus, Bell went to Michigan, and Spytek loves himself a former Wolverine.

Early in his career, Bell actually enjoyed some regular season success, catching 6 passes for 68 yards and 3 touchdowns as a rookie. Ultimately, he was phased out of a talented and crowded wide receiver room in San Francisco, and Bell has struggled to find stable footing since then.

Ahead of the 2025 season, he failed to make the Detroit Lions’ roster, and then he landed on the New Orleans Saints’ practice squad and played in two games for them last year, catching two passes for 23 yards and a touchdown. He did not make the roster in New Orleans this offseason.

So, now Bell is in Las Vegas with a chance to crack a wide receiver room that desperately needs help. He’ll be competing with fellow receivers Cody White and Deven Thompkins to be activated on game day if the Raiders decide that they need more assistance in that area.

As far as who the Silver and Black released, Jahfari Harvey may be the most disappointing, although the team can live without any of them. Harvey had his moments this preseason, but Ojulari and fellow practice-squadder Cian Slone are much more promising.

Okwuegbunam Jr. and Missouri didn’t do much to earn their spot this preseason, and they always felt like placeholders until the Raiders could find an upgrade. And they have, so credit goes to Spytek and Kubiak.

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