The Las Vegas Raiders are in a position to upset a lot of people during the 2024 season. They have a pretty good roster, but one wild card that just so happens to be the most important position in all of sports. However, they are in a unique position to play spoiler, and maybe they will do just that.

The Raiders must first finish their roster. To do that, they have to cut down from 90- players to 53, which can be pretty difficult to do. They will have to make some tough decisions on pretty good players, and will likely get picked up elsewhere afterwards.

So, as the Raiders play the San Francisco 49ers to wrap up their preseason, the cuts will start to flood in. Here is a tracker where you can follow every cut, and everything that has happened to get to where we are now.

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2024 NFL roster cuts important details:

Unlike the past few years, the NFL has reverted from gradual roster cuts throughout the preseason to a single deadline. Rosters must be reduced to 53 players virtually all at once. The team has several different transactions they can use to make that happen. Here are the terms you need to familiarize yourself with:

• Released: When a vested veteran (those who have accrued four seasons in the NFL) is cut from a team. These players are not required to pass through waivers and can immediately become unrestricted free agents. Sometimes that means they'll sign with another team. Other times, teams can release these veterans and re-sign them after they've placed other players on injured reserve.
  
  
• Waived: Players who have not accrued four seasons in the NFL are waived instead of being released. 31 NFL teams will have a chance to claim waived players on their 53-man roster by 11:00 a.m. CT on August 28. If players are not claimed on waivers, they become unrestricted free agents. Waiver priority this time of year is determined by team records from the previous season. The team with the worst record will get the top waiver priority, in this case, the Carolina Panthers. The Kansas City Chiefs will have the lowest waiver priority as Super Bowl LVIII champions.
  
  
• Waived/injured: If these players clear waivers they will revert to the Raiders’ injured reserve list. They can opt to spend the season with Las Vegas on IR or reach an injury settlement with the team, which will pay them for the number of weeks they'll miss with injury and make them an unrestricted free agent. Players who opt for the latter route can rejoin the team later in the season after they're healthy.
  
  
• Injured reserve: Up until this year, a player had to make the initial 53-man roster to be placed on IR and be eligible to return later in the season. Now, up to two players can be placed on IR on the day of final cuts (Tuesday) and be designated to return. Teams still have the option to carry injured players on the 53-man roster and some good reasons to do so. First, if a player is placed on IR, he is forced to miss at least four games. Second, if a player makes the initial 53 and is placed on IR on the following day, there are eight designations to return from IR — and another two for playoff teams.

• Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list: Players on the Active/PUP list can be placed on the Reserve/PUP list in a move to get the roster down to 53 players. Players who are moved to the Reserve/PUP list do not count against the 53-man roster. They can attend team meetings, and use team facilities for rehab, but are not allowed to practice for four weeks. After four weeks, another 21-day window opens up, where the player can practice and be activated. If they’re not activated in those 21 days, they must be placed on injured reserve for the rest of the season.
  
  
• Reserve/Non-football injury/illness (NFI) lists: Players placed on either Reserve/NFI lists have to go through the same process as players on the Reserve/PUP list. They do not count toward the 53-man roster. They can go to team meetings and use facilities for rehab, but they’re not allowed to participate in practice for four weeks. After that, a four-week period opens where they can return to practice and the team can choose to activate the player. If the player isn’t activated at the end of the second four-week period, they’ll remain on injured reserve for the rest of the season. The big difference between the NFI and PUP lists is that teams can withhold a portion of a player’s salary if they’re placed on the NFI lists.
  
  
• Reserve/Suspended list: Players who are placed on the Reserve/Suspended list have to serve out an NFL suspension. Players on this list do not count toward 53-man roster limits and are not paid their base salary.
  
  
• Reserve/Did Not Report list: Players who are placed on the Reserve/Did Not Report list have left their team. 
  
  
• Reserve/Retired list: Players who are placed on this list have retired from the NFL. This is a pretty rare transaction that you typically wouldn't see in a move to get to 53 players.

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Raiders' key position battles

The Las Vegas Raiders entered the offseason and training camp with several position battles going on. Obviously, the talk of the town and the focal point was the quarterback battle, but that battle is now over as Gardner Minshew has won it, but not yet the war, as the Raiders kept the door open for a possible Aidan O'Connell return.

Here are the other notable position battles:

• CB2
• Starting right tackle (Thayer Munford banged up)
• WR4,5,6 and maybe even 7
  
• RB3/4
• DT2 behind John Jenkins
• WLB 2
• MLB 2
• A few others that are far down the depth chart

Raiders players on the roster bubble:

Just like every team does, the Las Vegas Raiders have bubble roster players, or better yet known as guys who are on the verge of either making it or not making it. They are right there.

• OL Clark Barrington
• OL Jake Johanning
• OL Will Putnam
• OL Andrew Coker
• DT Marquan McCall
• WR Kristian Wilkerson
• WR Ramel Keyton
• WR Terrell Bynum
• WR Jalen Guyton
• WR Tyreik McAllister
• WR Dax Milne
• WR Tulu Griffin
• OL Jalen McKenzie
• OL Corey Luciano
• OL Dalton Wagner
• TE Zach Gentry
• TE Cole Fotheringham
• TE John Samuel Shenker
• QB Carter Bradley
• RB Dylan Laube
• RB Brittain Brown
• RB Sincere McCormick
• DE Charles Snowdin
• DE Ron Stone
• DL David Agoha
• DT Matthew Butler
• DT Noah Shannon
• DT Nesta Jade Silvera
• DT TJ Franklin
• LB DeShaun White
• LB Amari Gainer
• LB Amari Burney
• LB Jackson Mitchell
• LB Kana'i Mauga
• CB Cornell Armstrong
• CB Ja'Quan Sheppard
• S Jaydon Grant
• S Phalen Sanford
• CB Sam Webb
• CB Rayshad Williams

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NFL practice squad rules:

After the claiming period has ended at 11:00 AM CT on Wednesday, Aug. 28, teams are permitted to assemble their 16-man practice squads. Here are the rules on who can be signed to the practice squad.

• Players who do not have an accrued season (I.E. rookies).
  
  
• Players who were on the active roster for fewer than nine regular-season games during their only accrued season(s).
  
  
• Up to four players per team with no more than two accrued seasons.
  
  
• Up to six players per team with no accrued season limitations (I.E. vested veterans).

Additionally, the Raiders are allotted an exempt practice squad spot in 2024 because of the NFL International Player Pathway (IPP) program. Should defensive tackle David Agoha clear waivers, Las Vegas can keep him in that exempt spot on the practice squad. 

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Players Raiders have placed on Injured Reserve

• WR Jeff Foreman
• DT Tomari Fox
• OG Jake Johanning

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Players Raiders placed on PUP list

• LB Darien Butler

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Raiders’ 2024 roster cuts: 91*

Waived players

• David Agoha DE
• Clark Barrington G
• Carter Bradley QB
• Ben Brown G
• Brittain Brown RB
• Matthew Butler DT
• Terrell Bynum WR
• Andrew Coker T
• Cole Fotheringham TE
• T.J. Franklin DE
• Woo Governor CB
• Jaydon Grant S
• Tulu Griffin WR
• Marquan McCall DT
• Sincere McCormick RB
• Jalen McKenzie T
• Dax Milne WR
• Jackson Mitchell LB
• Will Putnam C
• Phalen Sanford S
• Noah Shannon DT
• John Samuel Shenker TE
• Ja'Quan Sheppard CB
• Charles Snowden DE
• Dalton Wagner T
• Sam Webb CB
• DaShaun White LB
• Rayshad Williams CB

Released players

• Cornell Armstrong CB
• Alex Bachman WR
• Zach Gentry TE
• Jalen Guyton WR
• Nathan Peterman QB
• Kristian Wilkerson WR

Waived/injured players

• Corey Luciano OL
• Elerson Smith DE
• Ron Stone Jr. DE

Reserved /injured designated to return

• Trey Taylor S

Waived/failed physical the following player:

• Darien Butler LB