Raiders roster 2025: A look at a look at in-house replacement if Tre’Von Moehrig, Nate Hobbs sign elsewhere

Las Vegas has more depth at safety to absorb a loss; slot cornerback is a lot murkier

The NFL offseason hits another gear starting on March 10.

That’s day one of a two-day negotiating period unrestricted free agents can have with interested teams. While deals won’t become official until the new league year starts on March 12, the legal tampering window is often when verbal agreements come to pass.

Flush with cap space and in-house free agents, the Las Vegas Raiders are expected to be active next week.

The team was busy this week making maneuvers from extending defensive end Maxx Crosby’s contract, signing free agent offensive lineman Alex Cappa, and informing veteran quarterback Gardner Minshew he’ll be released when new league year starts. And it’ll be intriguing to see if the Raiders bring back their own players who are slated to hit free agent market.

Two such names — safety Tre’Von Moehrig and cornerback Nate Hobbs — jump out as homegrown players the team developed into productive and reliable starters. Moehrig, taken with the 43rd overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, turned into a safety that can cover and play in the box. Hobbs, taken with the 167th overall pick in that same draft, went from outside corner to one of the best slot defenders in the league.

Money is going to be a determining factor when it comes to Moehrig and/or Hobbs returning. And while the Raiders aren’t hurting for coin, the salary cap space can dwindle quickly. General manger John Spytek noted he doesn’t want to let good players leave the building but when want meets finances, things can get murky.

Thus, lets take a look at who the Raiders have in-house that can potentially step up if Moehrig and Hobbs sign elsewhere.

Does Las Vegas have the talent to absorb the departures of their starting safety and nickel corner?

Under Contract

Cornerbacks:

• Jack Jones – $3.263 million cap number for 2025
• Jakorian Bennett – $1.235-plus million
• Decamerion Richardson – $1.160-plus million
• Sam Webb – $1.1 million
• Kyu Blu Kelly – $1.03 million
• M.J. Devonshire – $840,000

That’s a bevy of boundary/perimeter corners who have more experience on the outside than inside. Of that group, Kelly — fifth-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2023 draft — brings the most experience (in college) in the slot (130 over the course of his three-year stay at Stanford, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF)).

Devonshire, a Raiders seventh-round pick in the 2024 draft, did get snaps in the slot last offseason but was waived before being signed to the practice squad, as Hobbs was the nickel defender in the cornerbacks room.

Webb, on the other hand, has the height and length best served on the boundary. And fits the taller and longer profile that’s been a Pete Carroll tendency throughout the Raiders head coach’s career.

While Jones, Bennett, and Richardson have traveled with outside receivers who motion into the slot, that trio are primarily outside cornerbacks.

Granted, Las Vegas could always coach up one of those aforementioned corners to be the slot defender — much like how Hobbs went from an outside defender to excelling inside — but chances are the Raiders are going to add competition via free agency or the draft to improve the group overall.

But there’s one potential option in the group below.

Safeties:

• Isaiah Pola-Mao – $3.59 million
• Chris Smith II – $1.09-plus million
• Trey Taylor – $989,282
• Thomas Harper – $960,000

Pola-Mao was the first player the new regime addressed when a two-year contract extension was announced last Monday. So the Raiders have one potential starter at the safety group there.

If Moehrig were to depart, and Las Vegas didn’t re-sign veteran Marcus Epps, that’d mean a new duo in the defensive backfield as the last line of defense.

Let’s start with Harper. The undrafted free agent from Notre Dame was inked to the active roster after being waived by the Los Angeles Chargers (he was slated to be a practice squad signing by the Bolts) and offers slot versatility along with being a safety. He was a fiery slot corner who dabbled at safety in college. And with the Raiders, he played in 15 games (five starts) in 2024 and finished with 26 total tackles, 0.5 sacks, one interception, and two pass deflections.

Las Vegas would be wise to see how Harper would do at slot corner and safety this offseason and preseason.

Smith, on the other hand, was a fifth-round pick in the 2023 draft and hasn’t quite found his footing on defense. He’s been a special teams mainstay in his first two season in the NFL, however. He profiled as an undersized free safety coming out of Georgia but an instinctual one that excels at read-and-react in coverage.

Taylor, a seventh-round pick in the 2024 draft and Jim Thorpe Award winner out of Air Force, offers similar versatility to Harper. While the majority of his collegiate snaps were at safety (deep and box), Taylor was also aligned in the slot at Air Force. He arrived to the NFL with tenacity and violence as a tackler and run defender and a prospect that can cover and make an impact close to the line of scrimmage.

Moehrig’s return would bolster the group overall, but there’s talent there to be developed that can turn into starter material. Like cornerback, the safety room is likely to see more personnel added as the offseason progresses.