{"id":329138,"date":"2025-08-30T13:43:24","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T13:43:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/329138\/"},"modified":"2025-08-30T13:43:24","modified_gmt":"2025-08-30T13:43:24","slug":"3-free-agents-who-can-strengthen-the-las-vegas-raiders-roster-ahead-of-season-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/329138\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Free Agents Who Can Strengthen the Las Vegas Raiders Roster Ahead of Season Opener"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since the roster cutdown deadline, the Las Vegas Raiders<\/a> have made multiple tweaks to their roster, which means they could bring in competition for prominent roles.<\/p>\n

Over the past few days, the Raiders have made a few under-the-radar moves to fill out their practice squad and upgrade the back end of the roster. Still, general manager John Spytek should take a big swing at a starting-caliber player who can help the team at one of its weakest positions.<\/p>\n

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Though it\u2019s a thin pool of notable free agents ahead of Week 1, three players stand out as potential difference-makers for a defense that has some question marks.<\/p>\n

Safety Jabrill Peppers\"NFL:<\/p>\n

Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The New England Patriots<\/a> released Jabrill Peppers on Friday. He\u2019s a free agent who\u2019s not subject to waivers.<\/p>\n

Between 2020 and 2021, Peppers played for the New York Giants<\/a> under defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. He had his most productive year in the first of those two campaigns, recording 91 tackles, eight for loss, 2.5 sacks, and an interception.<\/p>\n

According to Pro Football Focus<\/a>, the 29-year-old has logged 1,804 snaps at free safety, 1,760 snaps as a box safety, and 902 snaps as a slot defender.<\/p>\n

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With Peppers\u2019 versatility and familiarity in Graham\u2019s system, he could be another chess piece for the Raiders\u2019 defense. He would fill a need at safety when Jeremy Chinn is the nickelback.<\/p>\n

Read More: NFL Defense Rankings 2025: Projecting all 32 Defenses after the Micah Parsons Trade<\/a><\/p>\n

Defensive Lineman Morgan Fox\"NFL:<\/p>\n

Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

After releasing Christian Wilkins, general manager John Spytek should stock the defensive line with as many productive players as possible.<\/p>\n

Even though the Raiders traded cornerback Jakorian Bennett for defensive tackle Thomas Booker IV, they can add Morgan Fox, who\u2019s had recent success rushing the passer.<\/p>\n

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Since 2022, Fox has recorded 15.5 sacks and 42 pressures<\/a>. At 6-foot-5, 275 pounds, he\u2019s lined up on the interior and on the outside. He would be a decent model for Tyree Wilson, who could see action in multiple spots across the front line this year.<\/p>\n

Read More: Highest paid NFL players 2025: Highest paid NFL quarterbacks, highest paid players by position<\/a><\/p>\n

Safety Justin Simmons\"NFL:<\/p>\n

Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Las Vegas is thin at safety with a rotation of three players when Jeremy Chinn lines up in the slot position. Chris Smith II will play alongside Isaiah Pola-Mao in the nickel formation.<\/p>\n

The Raiders lack a proven ball-hawking safety in their secondary. Lonnie Johnson Jr. may return from a broken fibula at some point this season, but he\u2019s recorded just one interception in the previous three years.<\/p>\n

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Justin Simmons<\/a> can provide leadership and still force takeaways. He\u2019s recorded at least two interceptions in all nine of his pro campaigns.<\/p>\n

Read More: Las Vegas Raiders 2025 Season Preview<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season with the Atlanta Falcons<\/a>, Simmons allowed<\/a> an 81.9 passer rating in coverage, giving up just 6.2 yards per target. At 31, the 10th-year veteran can be a difference-maker in the defensive backfield.<\/p>\n

Maurice Moton covers the Raiders for Sportsnaut. You can follow him on Twitter at @MoeMoton<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Related Headlines<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Since the roster cutdown deadline, the Las Vegas Raiders have made multiple tweaks to their roster, which means…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":329139,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2065],"tags":[254,1521,7,6564,7899,10368,1816,4949,6559,1744,393,2455,2454,1247,491,249,56,6,14269,410,525,5654,34465,7034],"class_list":{"0":"post-329138","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-las-vegas-raiders","8":"tag-atlanta-falcons","9":"tag-christian-wilkins","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-isaiah-pola-mao","12":"tag-jabrill-peppers","13":"tag-jakorian-bennett","14":"tag-jeremy-chinn","15":"tag-john-spytek","16":"tag-justin-simmons","17":"tag-las-vegas","18":"tag-las-vegas-raiders","19":"tag-lasvegas","20":"tag-lasvegasraiders","21":"tag-lonnie-johnson-jr","22":"tag-micah-parsons","23":"tag-new-england-patriots","24":"tag-new-york-giants","25":"tag-nfl","26":"tag-patrick-graham","27":"tag-pro-football-focus","28":"tag-raiders","29":"tag-the-raiders","30":"tag-thomas-booker","31":"tag-tyree-wilson"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115118015152287215","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}