The Raiders are looking for answers along their defensive line, and based on the first two preseason games, they might have a veteran defensive end in Patrick Johnson who will be able to contribute this year.
Johnson has recorded a sack in each of the Raiders’ two preseason games and has been the team’s highest graded defender by Pro Football Focus in both games.
PFF gave Johnson a game grade of 88.7 against the Arizona Cardinals and 90.3 against the Houston Texans on Thursday night.
Johnson’s sack fumble in the third quarter created the turnover that led to the Raiders first touchdown of the game.
Johnson has played 63 snaps in preseason to this point, mostly against backups, but he leads the team in quarterback pressures with five.
It will be interesting to see how the coaching staff responds to Johnson’s strong preseason because Malcolm Koonce has not made a big impression in his 27 preseason snaps. Pro Football Focus credits Koonce with just one pressure on 15 pass plays through the first two games of preseason.
In theory, Koonce could be a candidate to be cut, but more than $10 million of his $11 million deal is guaranteed in 2026, according to Over the Cap.
The Raiders would save just over $500k against the salary cap by cutting Koonce and that probably won’t be enough to justify a short leash on a player as talented as Koonce.
Raiders need to figure out their pass rush in a hurry
Getting Maxx Crosby in the lineup will help, but defensive coordinator Rob Leonard needs to find another playmaker along the defensive line sooner than later.
The starting defensive line in Las Vegas hasn’t been given many preseason reps, but in their short amount of time on the field in preseason, they haven’t been particularly impressive.
Reports from the team’s joint practice with the Texans were that the Texans were able to run the ball with success against the Raiders’ starting defensive line, and that is something head coach Klint Kubiak will want to clean up as quickly as possible.
Kubiak and Leonard have one more preseason game to work out the kinks before the regular season opener against the Miami Dolphins on September 13 at Allegiant Stadium.
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Koonce was a terrible re-sign.
How is Jordan Meredith still in the NFL? He’s awful in every way.
Cut him now and go sign Mechi Becton.