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.
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