Silver And Black Pride
The preseason and training camp are in the books, and the NFL’s cutdown day is on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. PST. So, let’s take one last stab at predicting the Las Vegas Raiders’ 53-man roster heading into the regular season.
To account for players who could get put on injured reserve during roster cuts, I’ve added an ‘Injured’ designation for the final projection. It’s important to note that the league has changed its rules, where teams can have two players begin the year on IR but designate them to return at some point during the season. Unlike in years past, when injured players would have to make the 53-man roster first and then get put on IR to avoid missing the enitre season.
As a reminder from last time:
For simplicity, it’s assumed that 25 offensive players, 25 defensive players and three specialists will make the roster in this exercise. That also can change as training camp goes on, as the coaching staff may decide to keep a different number of players at each position than what’s listed below.
To account for that, any player who has a star (*) next to their name means their status could change based on how many roster spots the coaching staff is allocating to that position. In other words, a ‘backup’ with a star is a ‘cut’ projection if the Raiders keep one fewer player than what’s listed below and vice versa.
Previously:
Starter: Geno Smith
Backups: Aidan O’Connell, Cam Miller*
Cut: no one
Updated:
Starter: Geno Smith
Backups: Veteran signing, Cam Miller*
Injured: Aidan O’Connell
With O’Connell out six to eight weeks, it seems inevitable that he’ll land on injured reserve. Also, head coach Pete Carroll said after last weekend’s game that the team is looking for veteran backup quarterback options. Who that will be is anyone’s guess, but a roster spot will need to be available for a QB, one way or another.
Previously:
Starter: Ashton Jeanty
Backups: Raheem Mostert, Zamir White, Dylan Laube*
Cut: Sincere McCormick, Chris Collier
Updated:
Starter: Ashton Jeanty
Backups: Raheem Mostert, Zamir White, Dylan Laube*
Cut: Sincere McCormick, Chris Collier (already reported)
That last running back spot could get interesting. Laube offers more value on special teams than McCormick, and the latter only got eight carries during the preseason. Unless the coaching staff decides to keep five backs, he’ll likely be left off the roster.
Previously:
Starters: Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker, Dont’e Thornton Jr.
Backups: Jack Bech, Tommy Mellott, Alex Bachman*
Cut: Shedrick Jackson*, Collin Johnson, Phillip Dorsett, Justin Shorter, Marquez Callaway, Ketron Jackson Jr.
Updated:
Starters: Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker, Dont’e Thornton Jr.
Backups: Jack Bech, Tommy Mellott, Amari Cooper
Cut: Shedrick Jackson*, Justin Shorter, Alex Bachman
Already cut: Ketron Jackson Jr., Marquez Callaway, Phillip Dorsett II, Collin Johnson
[Meyers asking for a trade right before...
