After a 23-23 tie in quarterback Geno Smith's homecoming to Seattle, the Las Vegas Raiders played their second game of the 2025 NFL preseason as they hosted the San Francisco 49ers. Despite falling 22-19 to their former Bay Area rivals, the Raiders received promising performances from multiple players who are looking to crack the final 53-man roster for the 2025 season.
Here are the three players who stood out for the Raiders on Saturday afternoon and are one step closer to earning a spot on the roster.
Qadir Ismail, TE
The Raiders have their top two tight ends well established for the 2025 season with Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer, which leaves Qdir Ismail, Carter Runyon, and Ian Thomas battling for the third-string position.
Ismail and Runyon both made their case to be the Raiders' third option at tight end with solid performances. Beginning with Ismail, the undrafted rookie out of Samford recorded two catches for 20 yards on four targeted passes. In his three seasons with Villanova and Samford, Ismail recorded a career 321 yards on 26 catches in his career.
Ismail will have one more game to prove that he can be the Raiders' third option at tight end. The Raiders will play their final preseason game on Aug. 23 on the road against the Arizona Cardinals.
Carter Runyon, TE
Runyon made a strong case to earn a spot on the Raiders' final 53-man roster in Saturday's preseason game. In the loss, Runyon recorded two catches for 29 yards on four targets with a long reception of 18 yards.
Runyon comes to Las Vegas as a talented tight end out of Townson, and Saturday's performance showed that he is more than capable of earning the third-string spot. In two seasons with the Townson, Runyon reached over 1,000 yards receiving and nine touchdowns.
The rookie showed in his career in college that he can be a red zone threat as a tight end and be the next man up if either Bowers or Mayer goes down with an injury.
Shedrick Jackson, WR
With Pete Carroll coming in as the new head coach for the Raiders this season, the offense is expected to benefit from his great offensive mind. The wide receiver group is a position that is set to leap forward with Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker, Dont'e Thornton Jr, and many others.
A wide receiver who is looking to earn a spot in the Raiders' wide receiver room is Shedrick Jackson. Jackson has played in three career NFL games with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2023. Jackson is looking for a fresh start with the Raiders this season and made a case for a roster spot in Saturday's preseason game.
Jackson recorded three receptions for 28 yards in the Raiders' loss to the 49ers in his second preseason game in the silver and black. Not a bad follow-up for Jackson, who caught a touchdown pass in the team's game against the Seahawks.
We'll see if Jackson can build off these performances in the Raiders' preseason finale against the Cardinals.
The Raiders will open up the 2025 NFL regular season against the New England Patriots on the road at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 7. Will Jackson, Runyon, and Ismail be on the Raiders roster? That remains to be seen.