Getty San Francisco 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo.
One of the latest additions to the Oakland Raiders may go from the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad to the starting lineup if the team keeps getting beat up with injuries. Offensive lineman Erik Magnuson nows finds himself on his third NFL team in the third year of his career. He was an undrafted free agent back in 2017 and was signed by the San Francisco 49ers where their starting quarterback gave him a pretty sweet nickname.
“The nickname, created by former quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, started called me Money Bags Mags,” Magnuson said to the media on Wednesday. “I was in the offensive line room where I was making the least amount of money, playing the most positions, so he started calling me Money Bags Mags. But it has no reflection of my actual, financial well being.”
That’s a little inconsiderate from the man they call Jimmy G. Hopefully Garoppolo took him out to a few nice dinners to make it up to him. Magnuson could see his financial situation see quite a boost if he does end up relieving the injured Andre James and Rodney Hudson and plays well. Early indications are that Richie Incognito will play center if neither of the two can go, but Magnuson could eventually get a shot if their absences are prolonged.
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How Is Magnuson Coming Along?
It’s no secret that learning Jon Gruden’s offense isn’t something that can happen overnight. Zay Jones had to sit out a game after the team traded for him because he needed to learn the offense. Magnuson made it seem like he’s not going to have a similar problem:
It’s a lot of information. I’ve played in six different systems, maybe seven now including college. So there is overlap, I mean, The West Coast system, is the West Coast system. The only thing is what do you call this block versus this block. Everyone has different terminology, once you get the overall understanding of how the play works – run scheme or pass scheme – you start to pick it up.
He doesn’t seem too worried about picking up the scheme, but it would be a surprise if the Raiders threw him out to play on Sunday. It would be one thing if he was a seasoned veteran. He could be active for the game but don’t expect to see Money Bags Mags lining up with the offensive line just yet.
Raiders Have Top-5 Offensive Line, Says Analyst
After last year, many didn’t expect much from the Raiders offensive line in 2019. As long as Tom Cable was the coach, there’s no way the team could field a top unit, right? Well, that hasn’t been the case and the team hasn’t given up a sack in three straight games. Offensive line analyst Brandon Thorn is now saying that the Raiders have the fifth-best offensive line in the NFL.
Considering he had them ranked 24th to start the season, that’s a massive jump. Everybody knew Richie Incognito, Trent Brown, Gabe Jackson and Rodney Hudson could play at a high level. The biggest surprise has been the improvement of Kolton Miller. He had a disastrous rookie year and much of that was thanks to injury. Now that he’s healthy, he’s been solid on the left side. If the unit could get and stay healthy, they could keep climbing up the list.
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