The Las Vegas Raiders have endured a miserable 2025 campaign to this point, and it seems like the team is intent on just playing out the string for the rest of the season. A matchup against another struggling team, the Cleveland Browns, offers the Raiders a rare opportunity to get back in the win column, and it sounds like head coach Pete Carroll will be making some lineup changes for this game.
Entering the season, it was clear Las Vegas had some big holes on its roster, and despite Carroll’s best efforts, many of those holes are still present heading into Week 12. One of the team’s weakest spots is the cornerback position, and in an effort to get some better production from this group moving forward, Carroll shared a big update regarding third-round rookie Darien Porter.
Darien Porter Set for More Snaps in Week 12
Las Vegas entered the season with a weak cornerback depth chart, and not much has changed 10 games into the season. Kyu Blu Kelly, Eric Stokes, and Darnay Holmes are the top options, with Porter and Jamal Adams also factoring into the mix. Simply put, it isn’t exactly a group that strikes fear into opposing quarterbacks.
Of this group, Porter is one of the more interesting options, and his lack of playing time given the team’s struggles has been a bit confusing. While Porter has played in all 10 games, he’s drawn just three starts, racking up 20 tackles to this point. His numbers in coverage are decent (89.2 opponent passer rating), but it’s fair to wonder what he could do with more snaps on defense.
With both Kelly and Stokes, the team’s two top boundary corners, not doing much better, it makes sense to give Porter a bit more action and see what he can do with it. Sure enough, it finally sounds like that’s what Carroll is going to do, as he revealed Porter is in line for more snaps in Week 12.
“He had a terrific week, he really did,” Carroll said of Porter when speaking to reporters on Friday. “Those guys are really battling, so he’s gonna get good playing time this week.”
Raiders Hoping Darien Porter Can Show Off His Potential in Week 12
GettyRaiders CB Darien Porter
With a 2-8 record, the Raiders are already basically eliminated from the postseason, meaning they don’t have much left to play for this year. Getting their young guys some more snaps to see what they are capable of is the best thing the coaching staff can do, as it will make the front office’s job of building the roster back up a bit easier over the offseason.
If Porter puts together some good tape this weekend, he could quickly become a bigger piece in the secondary for the rest of the year. Las Vegas will be going up against rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders in his first start of his career, so it could be a great opportunity for the secondary to put together a “get right” game against the young passer. Kickoff for this contest is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon.
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