While the NFL doesn’t release the 2026 schedule until Thursda at 5 p.m. PST, we do know who the Las Vegas Raiders’ opponents will be for next season. Also, the offseason is winding down now that free agency and the draft are in the rearview mirror. So, while we don’t know the specific dates the Raiders will play each opponent this fall, we do know who they will be lining up against.
With that in mind and in anticipation of Thursday’s release, let’s take a look at a few players who were on Las Vegas’ roster in 2025 and will have a “revenge game” against the Silver and Black. To clarify/reiterate, this is specific to players who were on last year’s team.
This will undoubtedly be a “no love lost” type of matchup. Smith didn’t exactly make many friends during his lone season in Sin City, giving the home fans the bird after a Week 12 10-24 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Also, the quarterback seemed to be more than happy to take the first flight out of town after the Raiders fired his longtime head coach, Pete Carroll.
In 2026, the 2013 third-round pick returns to the organization that drafted him. Unfortunately, this matchup will be in New York, which takes some of the drama away. But make no mistake about it, Smith will be out for blood against the Raiders with how last year unfolded.
The contest against the Jets will be a two-for-one when it comes to revenge games, as Parham signed a two-year, $16 million contract in New York this offseason. Unlike Smith, the offensive lineman shouldn’t have much of a vendetta against the Silver and Black. He was a four-year starter and just became expendable because the 2022 third-round pick never seemed to be able to get over the hump and become more than an average first-stringer.
Then again, Parham dealt with plenty of instability in Vegas, playing for four offensive line coaches (Carmen Bricillo, James Cregg, Joe Philbin and Brennan Carroll). That’s on top of three head coaches (Josh McDaniels, Antonio Pierce and Pete Carroll), and five offensive coordinators (Mick Lombardi, Bo Hardegree, Luke Getsy, Scott Turner, Chip Kelly and Greg Olson).
From Parham’s perspective, he can point to that as the reason he never properly developed to drum up some extra motivation for the matchup.
The Raiders recently moved on from the former Top 10 pick, sending him along with a seventh-rounder to the New Orleans Saints for a fifth-round selection that the Raiders used on former Arizona safety Dalton Johnson during the draft a few weeks ago.
Wilson’s tenure in Las Vegas got off on the wrong foot, as an existing foot injury held him back from developing and getting adjusted to the NFL as a rookie. But beyond that, he never lived up to the hype, starting just seven games over three years. That led to the Texas Tech product wanting a change of scenery and sets up for a revenge match this fall.
Of all the players listed here, Johnson has the least reason to want revenge against the Raiders. He had recorded just 12 defensive snaps the season prior and received significant playing time in the second half of the 2025 campaign, recording 321 snaps after missing the first half with an injury. That being said, the club opted to let him walk in free agency while needing depth at safety.
Now that the veteran is on a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins, he’ll have a chance to exercise any demons he may have against the Silver and Black.