Raiders make 2 roster moves that are crucial for the 2026 season in a few ways despite the signings not making major headlines
The Las Vegas Raiders needed depth all around their roster, so bringing back two players from last season to play those roles will help a ton, even if they’re not big-name players.
The Las Vegas Raiders are still making roster moves in free agency before getting the 2026 NFL Draft started. There are a ton of holes, and they won’t be able to fix everything via the draft. So, they’re patching up those holes as well as they can before draft week.
According to Ryan McFadden of ESPN, the Raiders have signed exclusive rights free agent Charles Snowden and restricted free agent Jordan Meredith, bringing them back. Meredith has been with the Raiders for the last four years, while Snowden is now entering his third year with the team, his fourth overall. These are good deals by the Raiders and general manager John Spytek, for a few reasons.
Raiders bringing back Jordan Meredith and Charles Snowden is good for 2026
This is the start of the actual rebuild. Sure, we have said that before, but when you look at how this regime has done things vs. the way others have, it’s evident this is what it’s supposed to look like. The Raiders need depth, pretty much everywhere. They also need some continuity, not constant change, which they’ve had for the last five years.
Bringing these two back does that for the Raiders. They are bringing two players back who were with the team last season, so there is chemistry. And they are bringing two players back who add valuable depth to the position group.
Meredith started 12 games last season and played 676 total snaps. Sure, he was bad a lot of the season, and was even sometimes the reason the offensive line played poorly. But if this is your backup center behind Tyler Linderbaum, you now have a guy who can slide in and start if Linderbaum gets hurt. You don’t have to worry about a guy who’s never done anything. Not to mention that in 2024, Meredith was pretty solid. In 2025, he allowed four sacks and 20 pressures. In 2024, he didn’t allow a sack and gave up only nine pressures in 90 fewer total snaps.
As for Snowden, he started in nine games last season due to some injuries. He was pretty solid, too, all things considered. With 735 total snaps in his career, he has experience, and he will be a third-stringer at most. He had 11 pressures and three sacks last season on 52 pass rush snaps. He can also be that outside linebacker in this 3-4 defense. Having played 152 coverage snaps the last two years, he knows how to drop back in coverage. That’s the kind of depth they need.
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