Despite a productive offseason, the Las Vegas Raiders continue to make roster moves. The team has made moves on the offensive line lately but has now added a defensive back and a tight end. According to the Raiders’ transaction page, the team has signed Roderic Teamer and Alex Ellis.
Notably, Teamer played for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2019 under defensive coordinator Gus Bradley. In his lone season with the team, he started in six games, caught an interception and notched a sack. During the 2020 offseason, Teamer was suspended for four games for violating the NFL’s policy on substance abuse. He ended up getting waived before the season even started.
He did not play at all during the 2020 season. Teamer was most recently with the Indianapolis Colts but was cut just a month ago. He wasn’t bad during his brief time with the Chargers. Perhaps Bradley knows how to get the best out of him. At just 24-years-old, the defensive back has upside.
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Ellis Has Bounced Around the NFL
GettyNew Las Vegas Raiders TE Alex Ellis.
Ellis will now be joining his seventh NFL team. However, he’s only seen playing time during his stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. He was not on a roster during the 2020 regular season. Over his career, Ellis has mostly been a special teams contributor.
The Raiders have a loaded group of tight ends so it’ll be tough to make the roster. Darren Waller, Foster Moreau and Derek Carrier figure to be the team’s tight ends on the active roster. The team also signed former BYU stud tight end Matt Bushman as an undrafted free agent. There isn’t a lot of opportunity on the Raiders at tight end.
Raiders Cut Erik Magnuson & Carson Williams
In order to make room for the two new signees, the Raiders had to make some cuts. Veteran offensive lineman Erik Magnuson was one of the casualties. He’s been on and off the roster for a couple of seasons now. He spent much of 2020 on the team’s practice squad. It wouldn’t be a surprise if this isn’t the last time we see him on the team’s roster in some capacity. Magnuson should be very familiar with how the Raiders do things on the offensive line so a spot on the practice squad is still possible down the road.
The Raiders also revealed they let go of tight end Carson Williams. The former Northern Kentucky Basketball star was one of the more intriguing signings the team made in the offseason. Some of the best tight ends in NFL history were once basketball players before playing football. Williams is 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, so he was the ideal size for an NFL tight end. However, according to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, he was dealing with a hamstring issue. It will always difficult for a player to transition to a new sport and deal with injuries. He never really had a shot if he couldn’t stay healthy. Perhaps he gets another shot down the road.
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Raiders Sign Former Chargers DB & Chiefs TE, Release 2 Players