The Las Vegas Raiders made a surprising move Tuesday, signing linebacker Jon Rhattigan off the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice squad, his representation, JL Sports, announced on social media.
Rhattigan, who played just one game for the Steelers this season—seeing six snaps on special teams in Week 2—has a track record as a core special teams player. Across five NFL seasons and 53 games, he has accumulated 44 tackles, a fumble recovery, and 1,024 special teams snaps, though he has only seen 20 defensive snaps in his career.
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The move comes after the Raiders unexpectedly cut starting linebacker Germaine Pratt, who didn’t travel with the team for the Week 5 game against the Indianapolis Colts. While details of Pratt’s departure remain unclear, his absence left a gap in the linebacker room.
“Carroll appears not to want to take a risk on another veteran he doesn’t know,” sources suggest, pointing to head coach Pete Carroll’s familiarity with Rhattigan from his time in Seattle. Rhattigan entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Seahawks in 2021 and spent three seasons under Carroll’s guidance.
Though Rhattigan is unlikely to start, he brings a valuable skill set to the Raiders’ struggling special teams unit. Carroll’s team has allowed 27.8 points per game, and improving field-position plays could be critical in turning around a defense that has struggled against even mid-tier offenses.
A Veteran Presence on Special Teams
“Rhattigan knows what he’s doing on the specialty units,” Carroll said, highlighting the linebacker’s 1,024 career snaps in coverage and returns. His addition could help stabilize a group that has underperformed despite flashes of competence elsewhere.
Backup linebacker Jamal Adams remains a key figure in the Raiders’ front seven, providing some reassurance that the linebacker room won’t collapse in the short term. Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and Carroll will need to manage the secondary, where rookie Darien Porter is seeing increased action due to injuries and inconsistent play from Kyu Blu Kelly and Eric Stokes.
“Just keep working with him,” Carroll said of Porter. “There’s ways to help him coverage-wise… they’re going to get the corner sometimes, and we’ve got to help him as much as we can.”
Looking Ahead
The Raiders’ defense, already lacking high-end talent, is expected to improve incrementally with Rhattigan’s arrival. While the team remains 1-4, the addition of a special teams ace and Carroll-approved linebacker provides a glimmer of stability. The move also underscores how practice squad acquisitions can immediately impact an NFL roster, giving teams like the Raiders a chance to address weaknesses midseason without relying solely on the draft or free agency.