Getty Jalen Richard with Hunter Renfrow & Derek Carr.
Ever since Jon Gruden took over the Las Vegas Raiders, he’s moved off of almost every player that was with the team previously. Nicholas Morrow, Derek Carr and Jalen Richard are the last players on the roster who were around pre-Gruden. However, that could be changing soon.
Carr and Morrow aren’t going anywhere but Richard has been speculated as a possible roster cut. Mitchell Renz recently pointed out that the veteran running back has removed all Raiders’ content from his social media platforms.
Jalen Richard has deleted everything Raiders related on his social media platforms.
Potential cut coming…?
If you go look at who he’s following on Twitter, the Raiders official page is nowhere to be seen. Interestingly enough, he still follows the team on Instagram, though. Typically when a player removes all references to his current team on social media, that isn’t a good sign that he’s going to be on the roster much longer. Richard has become an important member of the Raiders over the years and it would be sad for fans to see him go.
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Will Raiders Cut Richard?
It’s odd the Raiders would wait this long to cut Richard. He’s been a good soldier for the team and has done a lot of the dirty work. However, Las Vegas did hand a big contract to Kenyan Drake this offseason. They also have Theo Riddick on the roster. The running back room is starting to get crowded.
It’s possible that the Raiders are waiting until June to make an official move. If the team waits until after June 1 to cut Richard, they could save a little bit of cap space. If that’s what’s going to happen, it’s reasonable to believe that the running back already knows but just has to sit around and wait before he can sign with a new team. It’s not an ideal situation for a player to be in, especially one who has been with a team for five seasons. At the end of the day, the Raiders are going to do what’s best for the team and Richard’s $3.5 million cap hit is too steep for them right now.
Raiders Have Great Running Back Group This Season
The Raiders should be feeling really excited about their current group of running backs. Josh Jacobs is coming off a Pro Bowl season and is one of the best young runners in the NFL. As previously mentioned, the team signed Kenyan Drake this offseason. Between those two, Las Vegas has one of the best running back duos in the NFL.
If Richard ends up getting cut, Riddick is a very good third-stringer who is effective on passing downs. The Raiders have typically had a good running back room since Gruden took over but there’s no doubt this is the strongest one yet. Jacobs is a great player but he’s prone to injury. Having Drake share the load will take a lot of pressure off Jacobs’ body, which should make him much more effective through 17 games.
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