Down went Lonnie Johnson Jr. And in comes Terrell Edmunds.
After losing one veteran safety to a broken fibula, the Las Vegas Raiders added another in free agency bolstering depth and adding yet another competitor to the defensive backfield.
Johnson, 29 years old, was injured during the Silver & Black’s open scrimmage back on Aug. 2. The Kentucky product was part of a rotation at safety and is expected to return at some point in 2025. And his absence left a void.
Las Vegas filled it with Edmunds, a 28-year-old veteran. A first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Virginia Tech product fits size, physicality profile the Raiders seek from defenders under general manager John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll.
“He just said he wanted to see high energy right now. High energy, see how well I can pick up the playbook,” Edmunds said when asked what Carroll wants to see from the veteran safety. “Just play fast, just go out there and play free and just go out there and help out the team.”
Edmunds’ arrival shows the Silver & Black definitely have a type.
Las Vegas is going throwback when it comes to the safety position as in comes the 6-foot-1 and 217-pound Edmunds to fill the gap left by the 6-foot-2 and 221-pound Johnson. The size/speed element that was ever present in the Silver & Black glory days are returning it seems.
Looking at the safety group overall, of the nine players at the position, only two are under the 6-feet threshold in terms of height. The Raiders added Jeremy Chinn (6-foot-3 and 220 pounds) via free agency and re-signed Isaiah Pola-Mao (6-foot-3 and 204 pounds) this offseason. And it’s that duo that’s slated to be the starting safeties for defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s unit.
The shortest in the room are: Chris Smith II (5-foot-10, 197 pounds) and Thomas Harper (5-foot-10, 189 pounds). Trey Taylor stands 6-feet, 205 pounds while JT Woods is 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds and Hudson Clark measures in at 6-feet, 189 pounds.
Hokie Dokie
Edmunds is in the mold of a downhill safety who makes his presence known with physicality, showcasing that skillset during his first five seasons in the league in Pittsburgh out of Virginia Tech.
During that span, he racked up 410 total tackles (276 solo), 15 tackles for loss, five sacks, nine quarterback hits, five interceptions, and 26 pass deflections. Edmunds was a regular for the Steelers playing in 84 games with 79 starts.
Since then, however, Edmunds career hit a plateau and then dropped off.
He spent 2023 with two teams — the Philadelphia Eagles and Tennessee Titans — and the 2024 campaign with two more squads — the Jacksonville Jaguars and Steelers. He notched just four starts during that timespan and 55 total tackles (39 solo), two tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two quarterback hits, one interception and two pass deflections in those seasons.
Entering his eighth season in the NFL, Edmunds jumps right into the fray in Las Vegas. Outside of the two starting spots that Chinn and Pola-Mao currently occupy, there are rotational snaps to be had. Especially if the Raiders deploy more big nickel formations that sees three safeties on the field at the same time with Chinn either playing close to the line of scrimmage or in the slot. This provides an opening for another safety to tandem with Pola-Mao in the backfield.
“The main thing I’ll say, you just got to love the journey. It’s like anything in life. You’re never going to be on your high horse forever. Eventually, you got to just get it out the mud. You got to be a dog in the corner and fight your way out of it. And I guess you can say that’s what I’m going now, just by getting another opportunity to come out here just showing why I belong. Show them why I can compete and make this team.”
If Edmunds can showcase his ability to assimilate, produce, and be active and available, he has a golden opportunity to breath new life into his career — much like linebackers Devin White and Jamal Adams are attempting to do in Las Vegas. Both are former first-round picks like Edmunds.
The Raiders were once the bastion for career renaissance for highly drafted flame outs. And could be once again.
Quote of Note
“No, it definitely resonates. And it’s not corny at all. It’s something that he truly, truly believes in, and he’s done a good job relaying that to us, and we’ve done a good job taking that in and buying into the culture that he’s bought. One of our main slogans is ‘Always compete’ and I feel like we go out there on the field every day and we reflect that, because that’s what he preaches to us every single day, no matter what. No matter what went on the day before, what went on a minute before, hour before, he always preaches that, and it reflects in our team.”—Las Vegas Raiders safety Chris Smith II on head coach Pete Carroll’s slogans and culture.