Raiders Ziegler Roster Moves: Signs Two, Cuts Two

Las Vegas Raiders General Manager Dave Ziegler made four roster moves today by adding two new players and cutting two more only one day before the first preseason game.

HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegas Raiders, coming off of an impressive two days of joint practices and facing their first preseason game of 2023 versus the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, made some big roster moves today.

The Silver and Black added two players and cut two.  Per the team:

Raiders Announce Transactions

HENDERSON, Nev. -- The Las Vegas Raiders have signed free agent RB Darwin Thompson and re-signed free agent LB Kana’i Mauga, the club announced Saturday.

Thompson joins the Raiders after playing last season with the Seattle Seahawks. He spent the 2021 season on Tampa Bay’s practice squad after two seasons (2019-20) with the Kansas City Chiefs. The 5-foot-8, 200-pound running back has appeared in 26 career games and rushed for 225 yards and two touchdowns on 64 carries, while adding 108 receiving yards and one touchdown on 16 receptions.

Mauga, a 6-foot-2, 245-pound linebacker, spent time on the Silver and Black’s practice squad in 2022 after entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Denver Broncos. Mauga played at USC, where he appeared in 43 games with 24 starts from 2018-21 and totaled 116 tackles (51 solos), four sacks, two interceptions, four passes defensed and one forced fumble.

In corresponding moves, the Raiders have waived/injured LB Darius Harris and WR DJ Turner.

Ziegler said of his approach to free agency earlier this year that: “Well, I think that you can develop your philosophy before free agency starts. Now, sometimes that plan doesn't work out just based on how the market materializes and things of that nature. We're always going to have a group of players I would say in free agency that you just know based on what the market is and what conversations are, if you want to get that player, you're going to have to do that in the first couple of days of free agency. And then there's going to be another pool of players that you're going to make the decision on like this position group or this player, whatever it might be, we're going to wait. You know, we're going to sit and wait and see how the market materializes. And I think that is predicated on maybe the depth of that position and that may be predicated on what the surplus and demand in the draft at that certain position is. So, I think there's a few different variables that go into making that decision. But yeah, there are situations where there's probably, I think, unless you're planning on sitting free agency out and you just go in with that mindset, there's always going to be a player or two who you know that if you're going to do a deal, you're going to have to do that on the front side of free agency and there will be some players like that this year also.”

The Silver and Black open the preseason by hosting the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Aug. 13, at 4 p.m. EDT/1 p.m. PDT.

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