Raiders: 5 players who won’t be on the roster by Week 1

2. Nevin Lawson, cornerback

Lawson played in 14 games (starting nine) for the Raiders in 2020, with a career-high 61 tackles. But he was not particularly impactful otherwise, and after being resigned he was suspended for the first two games of the season for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing substance policy.

The Raiders notably added Casey Hayward to their cornerback after he was cut by the Chargers, after signing Rasul Douglas in mid-April. Richard Sherman remains an option to sign among a list of corners who are still available. They also drafted three defensive backs, though only one (Nate Hobbs) is a cornerback.

Lawson is not a good enough player to navigate the depth around him and earn a spot on the 53-man roster. The two-game suspension that looms to start the season will seal his fate before Week 1.

1. Jalen Richard, running back

Richard has functioned as the Raiders’ passing down back, but his role was not impactful last year (19 catches for 138 yards; 18 percent snap share). And the way Gruden has talked about free agent signing Kenyan Drake as a possible passing game weapon behind/on the field with lead back Josh Jacobs, Richard’s niche sounds like it’ll taken over.

Richard has a $3.5 million cap hit for this year, so cutting him wouldn’t have a great impact on the Raiders’ cap sheet (trading him would clear the entire $3.5 million, according to Over The Cap).

The Raiders could have Theo Riddick and his $900,000 cap hit fill the same bit role Richard is in line for. Simple economics says a $3.5 million third string running back isn’t smart. Maybe a late-round pick can be recouped in a trade, but a best-case scenario or Richard with the Raiders is making it to final cuts before Week 1.