Former Tennessee Vols cornerback Jermod McCoy was supposed to be a first-round selection in the 2026 NFL Draft, but he fell to day three due to concerns that he could require a second surgery on the ACL he tore in early 2025.

The Las Vegas Raiders took a chance on McCoy by selecting him in the fourth round.

McCoy, who told reporters in April that he’s healthy, participated in Raiders OTAs in May, but he was mysteriously absent during mandatory minicamp last week.

Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak was somewhat vague while addressing McCoy’s situation, suggesting that his absence was part of the plan to keep him healthy.

“He’s done a great job,” said Kubiak when asked about McCoy. “We’re asking him to spend a lot of time with AG (wellness trainer Alex Guerrero, AKA Tom Brady’s guy) just to get him ready so that when we put him out there come training camp, we have 100 percent confidence in him, and him the same way. But really excited about seeing him practice come training camp. AG has got a great plan with our medical staff, and we’re bringing him along slowly.”

“It’s gonna be a moving target with him, but we drafted him for a reason,” added Kubiak. “We drafted him to play. So I expect him to compete in camp and get plenty of reps.”

That all sounds great, but not everyone is buying it.

For starters, Guerrero is closer to a witch doctor than an actual trainer (his controversial methods are well-documented).

Secondly, McCoy hasn’t actually signed his rookie contract yet, according to NBC Sports.

It’s certainly odd for McCoy, who is healthy and moving at full speed, to practice fully and then suddenly not be out there for mandatory minicamp in June. Those are important reps for McCoy to get if the Raiders are hoping he can contribute in 2026 (and if the knee is a ticking time bomb as many believe, they’ll want him playing as soon as possible so they can capitalize on his rookie deal…he’s a Pro Bowl-caliber cornerback if healthy).

This feels more like a situation where McCoy is not practicing because he wants to maximize his rookie contract — especially since he won’t be getting first-round money like he was expecting up until a couple of days before the draft.

Good on Kubiak for protecting his player from the media if this is the case. But we’ve seen these situations before, and it’s almost always contract related.