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The Oakland Raiders are making moves because of their banged-up linebacker corps.
After Week 3’s 34-14 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, which saw three Raiders linebackers get injured and exit the game, Oakland has signed a linebacker — and released a veteran wide receiver in the process. As the team revealed Wednesday, they have released veteran wide receiver Ryan Grant and has signed linebacker Justin Phillips off of their practice squad
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Ryan Grant Began the Season in the Starting Lineup
Grant had begun the season as a starting receiver for the Raiders but failed to produce in his one start and two appearances on the season. He caught just four balls for 14 yards and was declared inactive for the Week 3 loss against the Vikings.
The 28-year-old had starting experience in the NFL, starting 17 games over the past two years, including 10 last season with the Indianapolis Colts. His most productive season to date came in 2017 with the Washington Redskins when he caught 45 receptions for 573 yards and four touchdowns.
As far as Phillips is concerned, he was initially signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys earlier this year before he was released in August. He signed with the Raiders at the beginning of September. Assuming he’s active in Week 4, it’ll mark his NFL debut.
The move marks the second linebacker signing for the Raiders in this week alone. Earlier this week, the Raiders signed Dakota Allen off of the Los Angeles Rams practice squad. Allen has also yet to appear in an NFL game.
The Raiders are obviously looking for reinforcements after Vontaze Burfict (elbow), Marquel Lee (knee) and Nicholas Morrow (ankle) all suffered injuries against the Vikings.
It remains to be seen what Burfict, Lee and Morrow’s statuses look like as we await the Raiders’ initial injury report for their matchup against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
Raiders Enter as Underdogs for Fourth Straight Week
The Raiders will enter their Week 4 matchup against the Colts as underdogs for the fourth straight week. As you may remember, Oakland was underdogs in Week 1 against the Denver Broncos, Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs and Week 3 versus the Minnesota Vikings.
This week will be no different as they’ll be seven-point underdogs as they face the Colts and Lucas Oil Stadium (via Odds Shark). Making matters worse for Oakland is the fact that the Colts are 10-0 SU in their last 10 games as a home favorite and 6-2-1 ATS in their last nine games as one.
That doesn’t bode well for an Oakland squad that just released their starting wide receiver, has a banged-up linebacker corps and an offensive line that is crumbling due to injury.
However, if the Raiders want a chance at making a run for a postseason berth this season, they can’t afford to lose this key game against a team they will likely have to compete with for a wild card spot in the closely-contested AFC.
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