標籤: quietly

The Las Vegas Raiders made a quiet but important move before free agency opens this spring. They traded Taron Johnson, one of the best slot cornerbacks in football, to plug the hole that has plagued this defense for three years.

And now, no one can find him.

Not in the team’s offseason photo dump, nor in the background of any workout shots at the Intermountain Health Performance Center. Johnson was not included in the welcome graphics released by the Raiders for every other offseason addition. Not on his own social media, where his X bio still claims he plays for the Buffalo Bills. The Raiders have entered deep into the second phase of the offseason program and the Silver and Black’s most experienced defensive back acquisition has become a ghost.

This is a problem worth talking about.

Terron Johnson’s absence has been noticed

Just Blog Baby was the first to flag it, detailing the evidence and noting what the Raiders did and didn’t do publicly. Every other player received a warm welcome from the team on social media this offseason. Tyler Linderbaum. Quay Walker. Nakobe Dean. Drink candy. Jalen Naylor. Even linebacker Cameron McGrone, who just signed this week, got the standard graphic.

Johnson got nothing. From the team or yourself.

Here’s some context on what’s at stake. Johnson is a six-year veteran with 79 starts in Buffalo. He is a former second-team All-Pro who anchored a Bills secondary that played in three AFC Championships. The Raiders gave up real draft capital to get him. And the way Rob Leonard’s defense is structured, the slot corner is one of the most important pieces on the field, as the AFC West throws receivers to that area on every other snap. Kansas City does it. Chargers do this. Denver does it.

If Johnson isn’t here, the entire back end of this defense becomes tough.

Connected: ‘No excuses’: Clint Kubiak issues clear warning to Raiders coaches and front office

Is it really time to panic over Johnson’s no-show?

Now the proper counterargument.

Voluntary means voluntary. Too many veterans skip the steps of offseason programs. Johnson is not yet under contractual obligation to remain in the building. He follows the Raiders’ running backs Max Crosby and Jeremy Chinn on Instagram, which at least suggests he hasn’t checked out mentally. He hasn’t posted on X since 2021, so the thing in the bio is probably just an omission, not a statement.

But the math still doesn’t add up.

Clint Kubiak said this week that with OTA reps becoming more limited than ever before, you have to be intentional about your timing. Translation from coach-speak into plain English: Every rep counts and players who aren’t there are falling behind. The Raiders don’t have the luxury of having a starting-caliber slot corner show up late and play catch-up against Patrick Mahomes in Week 1.

Johnson is completely new to this scheme. He has never played a snap in a Rob Leonard defense. He has never played with Jeremy Chinn, rookie Traydon Stukes or Jarmod McCoy. The entire secondary needs to learn how to play together and the most experienced part of it has been invisible since April.

Phase two is underway. The rest of the team members are working in the building. If Johnson comes out before mandatory minicamp, the story dies a quiet death and no one outside Raider Nation ever thinks about it again.

If he doesn’t do this, the attackers will be in a real problem.

Scott Gulbransen, a quintessential expert in the field of sports journalism, serves as an editor, nfl , mlb , Formula 1 … More about Scott Gulbransen

On Tuesday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers suffered their second consecutive loss with a close home loss to the Orlando Magic. The Lakers had a chance to win it late, but Luka Doncic missed his dribble and was forced to pass to LeBron James, whose turnaround heave from beyond the arc hit the backboard and the rim.

Much has been said about the Lakers’ perceived roster shortcomings in recent weeks, and now, ESPN NBA analyst Brian Windhorst has added more fuel to the discussion.

“When Luca [Doncic]lebron [James]and Austin Reeves play together, they’re not a good team… when it’s appropriate [Austin & Luka] The Lakers are an excellent team out there,” Windhorst said on First Take, according to X, formerly of NBA Courtside on Twitter.

In fact, James, Doncic and Reeves in many ways have skills that cancel each other out, none of them are good defenders and they all need the ball to perform at their best offensively.

Many have floated the idea that the Lakers will either let James walk or bring him back on a more team-friendly deal this offseason in order to build a more viable roster around Doncic, similar to the Dallas Mavericks team that made the Finals in 2024 before the team inexplicably traded him to Los Angeles.

Doncic and Reeves have created a lethal one-two punch in games played together without James, but when all three are in the lineup, none of them have been able to be their full producers on offense, and the team’s defense has faltered.

Yet, despite this, the Lakers are 11 games above the .500 mark at 34-23, and are not out of position to secure home court advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

The Lakers next play on the road against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday evening.

On Sunday, the NBA All-Star Game begins at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, with Lakers star LeBron James taking part in the festivities. James was recently made ineligible for the All-NBA team this year due to his absence from the lineup this season, but he will still be in uniform for fans during All-Star weekend.

It’s been an up-and-down season so far for the Lakers, and recently, James has been 100% honest on his team’s title chances entering the extension of the campaign.

According to Brett Siegel, formerly of ClutchPoints, on Twitter, James said, “Our success will depend on our health.”

Health has actually been a major question mark for the Lakers at times this season, as James missed the early portion of the campaign, and Austin Reaves was recently sidelined for nearly a month in the midst of his breakout campaign.

Lakers star Luka Doncic has also been out of the lineup for the past few games, although he will be able to participate in Sunday’s All-Star Game.

Even when fully healthy, many pundits are skeptical of the Lakers’ ability to compete for a championship, given the lack of two-way players on the roster. While Los Angeles has the offensive firepower to compete with anyone, there aren’t many above-average defenders on the roster, a problem that was fully exposed by the Minnesota Timberwolves during last year’s playoffs.

Still, as James said, staying healthy will greatly help this Lakers team maximize its chances in April, and so far, that has been a big challenge for the team in 2025-26.

In any case, the All-Star Game is scheduled to begin on Sunday at 5:00 PM ET. Meanwhile, the Lakers will next be at home against the Clippers on Friday.