Raiders Promote Roman Hemby and Devyn Thompkins From the Practice Squad for Road Trip to New England

The Las Vegas Raiders have elevated Roman Hemby and Devyn Thompkins from the practice squad, setting up their availability for the team’s early road start of the season in New England. The promotions arrive with the Raiders operating amid injuries to multiple skill-position contributors, forcing the next-man-up approach on both sides of the depth chart.

Hemby and Thompkins were not on the active game-day roster at the start of their Week stretch, and the Raiders’ decision to elevate them highlights how quickly the NFL depth plan can shift once injuries hit. For players coming up from the practice squad, the immediate objective is straightforward: earn a consistent role during the game week and show coaches they can handle the speed and execution demands of live snaps.

The timing also carries emotional weight for the Raiders. The move was reported alongside an effort to steady the team after a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs the previous week, with fans looking for a response and for the sideline mix to include fresh faces who can spark execution on offense and/or special teams, depending on how the Raiders choose to package them.

From a roster-management standpoint, practice-squad elevations serve two purposes at once. They fill gaps created by injury status, and they allow teams to test lineup chemistry without fully committing a roster spot for the long haul. If the Raiders’ health improves, elevations can become temporary answers. If injuries linger, promotions can report that the team is preparing for a longer stretch of rotation football.

For New England, the matchup becomes a different kind of challenge as Las Vegas will likely adjust its look to match what its newly elevated players can do best. Even when an elevation does not come with a game-changing profile, it can alter coverage responsibilities, personnel groupings, and the overall rhythm of offensive drives or defensive matchups across the first quarter, when coaches are most sensitive to communication and timing.

What to watch next is how much trust the Raiders show immediately. Elevations often reveal themselves in snap counts, the breadth of routes or assignments, and whether the coaching staff leans on the newcomers on key third-down or end-of-game situations. If Hemby and Thompkins contribute early, the move could become more than a stopgap. If they struggle to sustain the tempo, the Raiders could quickly return to a tighter rotation after the injury picture clarifies.