‘Ghost’ no more: Raiders defender gets his own Hollywood moment

Snowden came up with a fourth-down sack to secure an emotional 20-16 win for the Raiders over the Browns. And his celebration showed just how happy he was to help his team even its record at 2-2.

“I really can’t put it in words,” the defensive end said at his locker three days later. “It felt like I couldn’t have dreamed it up any better and so that was just a moment of just pure euphoria.

“I mean, really one of the coolest feelings I’ve ever had in my life.”

Snowden, 26, did admit his mind started racing as he looked around the field afterward.

He thought about all the hard work and sacrifice that led to that moment. The coaches, mentors and teammates that supported him when it looked like his NFL dreams would never come true. Snowden wondered how proud his family would be back home.

“As I kind of just slowed down for a second and thought about it, then it was about everything I put in, everything I sacrificed,” he said. “All those long nights where I questioned whether it was going to pay off. It just felt so rewarding.”

Snowden also noticed how all eyes in the stadium were fixated on him in that moment. No longer was he invisible on the football field.

‘A ghost in the building’

Snowden, after a productive career at Virginia, went undrafted in 2021.

He wasn’t able to show teams much leading up to the draft thanks to a broken ankle that cut his senior season short. There were also questions about whether he was too intellectual for football and whether his lanky 6-foot-7 frame would hold up in the NFL.

He joined the Bears as a free agent, but he was cut after training camp. Chicago signed him to its practice squad and Snowden ended up playing in two games, though he earned just six defensive snaps.

It took him a long time to get back on the field.

The Bears released Snowden during training camp in 2022. He joined the Buccaneers practice squad later that season, though he was cut again prior to the 2023 campaign. He wasn’t picked up for another three months.

Snowden began to wonder if his brief cup of coffee in 2021 would be the peak of his NFL career. He was putting in the work, but he felt like he was getting lost.

“It’s tough being a guy at the bottom of the league,” Snowden said. “It’s no joke with the ups and downs and the insecurity and not knowing what’s next and feeling every day could be your last. You end up feeling kind of like a ghost in the building sometimes. Like you put in all this work and it never gets noticed.”

The Raiders signed Snowden to their practice squad in December. The moved worked out well for both sides.

Finding a home

Snowden started turning some heads during his time on the Raiders practice squad. But he really opened some eyes throughout the offseason.

“We saw flashes in the spring, but it wasn’t really until training camp that it really clicked that this guy can play,” defensive tackle Adam Butler said. “He just comes in every day with such a great attitude. You rarely ever see him down or sad. No matter what’s going on in his life or his journey, he just keeps a positive attitude and just works.”

Snowden still didn’t make the Raiders’ initial 53-man roster. This time, at least, he wasn’t on the practice squad for long. Defensive end Malcolm Koonce suffered a season-ending knee injury before the opener against the Chargers. Snowden was called up to take his place, then took full advantage of his opportunity.

He has seven tackles and four quarterback hits through four games.

“We said the best players will play, and when they get the opportunity, just make the most of them. And he’s doing that,” coach Antonio Pierce said. “An opportunity comes up, he’s ready and he’s prepared.”

This chance is all Snowden has ever wanted.

“I always felt confident that I could perform at this level, but you question whether you’re going to get that chance again or not,” he said. “So when an opportunity came, I just had to make sure that I was ready to go.”

Snowden doesn’t hold any grudges against the teams that overlooked him before. He believes his journey has prepared him to meet the moment this season.

“I think that right now I’m playing the best football I’ve ever played in my life,” Snowden said. “I think it was a mixture of I just wasn’t quite ready, maybe a couple of years ago, but also that paired with being a tall, lanky guy who maybe didn’t necessarily look the part of an NFL edge rusher. But (I) just continued to progress and now (I’m) showing that I belong on this level. I’ll just keep earning that every day.”

Snowden’s attitude has earned him a lot of fans in the Raiders’ facility.

“He’s a hard worker and a smart football player,” defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said. “Is it rewarding (to see him succeed)? Absolutely. It’s more rewarding when we win, yes. But yes, it’s a great story in terms of just as I go through my coaching career, to have a guy like that come up big in a big game, it’s definitely rewarding.”

The aftermath

If Snowden’s story was a Hollywood movie, his sack Sept. 29 would have made for a tremendous final scene.

He’s hoping it’s just the beginning.

“It was a great play and truly a great moment,” Snowden said. “But that game is over and now we’re just building and focusing on the Broncos, a great team that has won two games in a row against some good teams. So we’re just focused on that and I’m just trying to just continue to help the team however I can. I know I am very, very far from what I can be and where I need to be, so it’s just focusing every day and just continuing to improve.”

Snowden still took time to enjoy his moment.

His phone blew up with messages from friends new and old, some of whom had been with him from the start of his football journey in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Snowden’s parents even went viral thanks to a video of them celebrating his sack in front of their living room television.

“I mean, they were just beaming,” Snowden said. “I could just hear their smiles through the phone, and it was just such a cool moment (and) experience for all of us.”

Snowden finished his day Sunday by exploring one of his other passions: politics. He got dressed quickly after his first-ever postgame locker room interviews and attended a rally for Vice President Kamala Harris in Downtown Las Vegas.

Snowden went with a group of Raiders players and Harris acknowledged them in her speech.

“That was really cool,” Snowden said. “I studied politics in college, so I’ve always kind of just been a fairly political person and so to be able to be there for that moment was cool.

“I promise you in my wildest dreams that I could not have drawn up Sunday any better.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.