Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll is not a big man by any stretch, but he looked downright tiny next to defensive lineman Laki Tasi, who was signed by the team as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program.
The 21-year-old, who stands at 6-foot-6 and 348 pounds, is of Samoan descent and played for the Ashgrove GPS Rugby Club of the Queensland Premier Rugby Union in Australia before joining the Raiders in the states.
Tasi says he was first turned on to the IPP by a restaurant owner back home.
“One of the guys that owns a burger joint back home, he was telling me about this IPP that Jordan Mailata joined, which is kind of surprising because I didn’t know who Jordan Mailata was or what the NFL (was),” he told ESPN’s Laurie Horesh.
“The owner was onto me … like let’s try out this NFL thing, you’ve got a good body (for it),” Tasi added. “As soon as I searched up the YouTube (story) about Jordan and the NFL IPP I realized how big it is.”
Tasi made his Raiders debut this weekend while the team was holding its three-day rookie minicamp, and it wasn’t long before his massive frame turned heads.
Raiders Spanish play-by-play announcer Harry Ruiz was in attendance for the open portion of practice on Friday and shared a picture of Carroll and Tasi next to one another. Tasi was on one knee and was still almost taller than Carroll.
How massive is #RAIDERS International Player Pathway signee Laki Tasi?
During today’s stretching period, HC @PeteCarroll approached him and look at how he’s almost eye-to-eye with him … while Laki is on one knee. #RAIDERNATION pic.twitter.com/3ByYg4T0ZK
— Harry Ruiz (@harryruiz) May 9, 2025
That is just absurd. Imagine having to deal with that guy on a Rugby field.
Because of his status as an IPP player, Tasi does not count against the team’s 90-man offseason roster count, and if kept on the practice squad, he won’t count against that total, either.
But first things first, Tasi will look to earn a roster spot out of training camp. He is facing an uphill climb, though, after the Raiders defensive line room became more crowded following the draft selections of Tonka Hemingway and JJ Pegues.
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