Silver And Black Pride
Now that the Las Vegas Raiders have one preseason game in the books, a 23-23 tie against the Seattle Seahawks, let’s revisit the 53-man roster projection with information gained in last Thursday’s contest and training camp. The Raiders have also made a handful of additions and subtractions since the last projection, creating an extra element to the latest edition.
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: Aidan O’Connell*, Cam Miller
Cut: no one
The change here is subtle, shifting the asterisk from Miller to O’Connell, as there’s no denying who the better quarterback was in Seattle. Still, it makes the most sense for the coaching staff to keep three QBs on the roster, but O’Connell could become expendable if the rookie continues to outplay him.
Previously:
Starter: Ashton Jeanty
Backups: Raheem Mostert, Sincere McCormick, Dylan Laube*
Cut: Zamir White, Chris Collier
Updated:
Starter: Ashton Jeanty
Backups: Raheem Mostert, Zamir White*, Sincere McCormick
Cut: Dylan Laube, Chris Collier
The big change here is flipping White and Laube, as the coaching staff seems to like what they’ve seen from White so far. However, Laube had an impressive outing in Seattle by showing up in the passing game and rushing attack offensively, in addition to making a nice tackle on special teams. That adds some intrigue to the running back room.
Previously:
Starters: Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker, Dont’e Thornton Jr.
Backups: Jack Bech, Tommy Mellott, Collin Johnson*
Cut: Alex Bachman*, Shedrick Jackson, Phillip Dorsett, Ketron Jackson Jr., Kyle Philips, Seth Williams
Updated:
Starters: Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker, Dont’e Thornton Jr.
Backups: Jack Bech, Tommy Mellott, Shedrick Jackson*
Cut: Alex Bachman*, Collin Johnson, Justin Shorter, Phillip Dorsett, Marquez Callaway, Ketron Jackson Jr.
Already cut: Seth Williams, Kyle Philips, Kawaan Baker
Wide receiver is one of the position groups that has already seen a handful of changes, including moving tight end Justin Shorter back to his natural position. Granted, most of the moves the front office has made shouldn’t impact the 53-man roster much. The hot name out wide right now is Jackson, who was hands down the Raiders’ best receiver...
