Tristin McCollum
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Las Vegas Raiders safety Tristin McCollum.
The Las Vegas Raiders have slowed down significantly with the free agent signings, but there are still many spots to fill on the roster. The team didn’t use the franchise tag on any players, but they did tender a number of restricted free agents.
One player they used the exclusive rights tender on was safety Tristin McCollum. He didn’t get any biters in free agency, but the Raiders were clearly interested in bringing him back. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the two sides have finally agreed on a contract that will keep McCollum in Las Vegas.
He spent last season with the Raiders after they claimed him when the Philadelphia Eagles waived him. He played 16 games for the team in 2025.
McCollum first came into the NFL as an undrafted free agent signing of the Houston Texans. He never played a game for them, but spent two seasons with the Eagles, winning a Super Bowl ring for the 2024 season.
McCollum is mostly a special teams player, but could provide some depth at safety for the Raiders. He’s still a young player at 26 and is a solid athlete. There are going to be many opportunities for him to stand out on a young Raiders defense.
Klint Kubiak Hoping to Get Deeper at Safety
McCollum joins Terrell Edmunds, Jeremy Chinn and Isaiah Pola-Mao on the roster. The Raiders’ safety room isn’t the strongest on paper. Chinn is a good player, but Pola-Mao seemed outmatched last season.
Edmunds is a former first-round pick, but hasn’t been able to stay on a roster consistently. Safety might be a position the Raiders have to address in the draft. Head coach Klint Kubiak acknowledged the group needs to improve.
“I think we got to get deeper,” Kubiak said about the safety position during his recent media availablility. “It’s a good draft for that position. I think we got three guys that we’re working with right now. We got to continue to build that depth.”
Raiders Wanted to Get Young This Offseason
The Raiders weren’t expected to be a great team last offseason, but that didn’t stop them from building an older roster. This offseason, the team has finally embraced youth. General manager John Spytek revealed that it was a conscious decision for the Raiders.
“We wanted to get younger, we wanted to target the right kind of people and so I’m just proud of the work that they put in,” Spytek said. “It was a great, collaborative teamwork while we were waiting to fill out the coaching staff.
“And then, we waited until after the Super Bowl, obviously, to have Klint [Kubiak]. And then that was kind of accelerated just with the coaching staff and try to put it all together. But I thought we had a really, really great process with our scouts and the coaches together, and we were able to really feel like we did a good job in free agency of making the Raiders better.”
The Raiders need to build the team with young talent if they hope to field a sustainable winner.