The Las Vegas Raiders defensive backfield has a chance to be the most improved group on the team. However, how improved could depend on veteran cornerback Taron Johnson.
The team traded for the former Buffalo Bills All-Pro this offseason, but he decided to skip the beginning of OTAs, as he’s hoping for a restructured contract. Johnson still has two years remaining on his current contract, but there is no more guaranteed money left.
It’s unclear what exactly his contract demands might be, but it’s most likely that he’s simply looking for more guaranteed money, and not additional years on the deal. This could be a tricky situation for the Raiders.
They did trade for him this offseason, but it was only a late-round pick swap. Johnson was an All-Pro in 2023, but missed five games in 2024 and four games in 2025. Regardless, Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton believes this is the Raiders’ most important contract extension situation to resolve.
“After the Raiders acquired Johnson from the Buffalo Bills, he skipped several OTA practices,” Moton wrote. “According to Vincent Bonsignore of the California Post, the 29-year-old slot cornerback wants a new contract with two years left on a non-guaranteed deal. Although Johnson eventually rejoined the team before mandatory minicamp, his representatives may continue to work on an extension ahead of training camp.”
What Should Raiders Do?
The Raiders are very young in the secondary, so it’s not a bad thing to have a veteran like Johnson around. The team did add Treydan Stukes in the second round, and he can play nickel cornerback.
Stukes is a versatile piece, so the Raiders could play him at safety or at outside cornerback, as well. Having Johnson manning the slot allows Las Vegas to be more creative with Stukes.
If Johnson just wants some more guaranteed money, it could be wise for the Raiders to give him something for this season. He’s still only 29, so he could return to All-Pro form in 2026 and be a big impact player. If not, it should be easy to move on from him next season. That said, if he’s willing to play on his current contract, then the Raiders don’t need to do anything until they actually see him play.
Stukes Has a Chance to Be a Star
Stukes is going to be 25 at the start of the season, which is definitely old for a rookie. There likely isn’t a lot of untapped potential there. In fact, he’s just six months younger than Baltimore Ravens star safety Kyle Hamilton, who is entering his fifth year in the NFL.
While that age concerned some teams, there’s no denying he has been a very productive player on the field. New Raiders safeties coach Matt Robinson coached Hamilton in Baltimore and thinks that Stukes could have a similar impact in Las Vegas.
“Raiders safeties coach Matt Robinson, who came over from Ravens, said Treydan Stukes can ‘absolutely’ play a similar role to Kyle Hamilton in secondary,” Warren wrote on X. “Said his size, speed and versatility is similar to Hamilton, and hope is that he can bring physicality to his position.”
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