Getty Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden speaking with a referee.
The Oakland Raiders continue to be busy on the free-agent market as they’ve announced the signing of offensive guard Kyle Kalis to the practice squad. Kalis came into the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2017 after playing college football at Michigan University. He’s played in seven total games for the Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts. He’s also spent time with the Washington Redskins but never saw action on Sunday’s with them.
The move is likely a response to Anthony Rush leaving the practice squad to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles. Rush leaving is disappointing as he was one of the team’s more intriguing undrafted free agents. He was very impressive in the preseason, but just needed more time to develop. There was a spot open and the Raiders decided to fill it with Kalis. The team also announced the signing of defensive lineman Kasim Edebali, which was reported by The Athletic’s Vic Tafur on Tuesday. Edebali is a german-born player who has been on nine teams in six years.
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Kalis Was the Subject of Controversy While in College
Kyle Kalis made a lot of people very unhappy when he was in college. He was born and raised in Ohio but decided to play football in Michigan. For those unaware, the rivalry between Ohio State and Michigan is as fierce a rivalry as there is in sports. Kalis ruffled a lot of feathers with his controversial decision to scorn his home state. Per Yahoo Sports, it was so bad that he would receive threats:
“There are really a lot of stupid people out there,” said Kalis. “I’d get people telling me they wanted me to tear my ACL. I got plenty of threats. I know it was bad, but I gave my address out to about 20 people and told them to come find me. Nobody came.”
What a power move to give your address to people who are threatening you. He may just be a perfect fit for the Raiders. The team already has characters like Richie Incognito on the offensive line, so why not add more toughness, even if it’s just in practice. He also had an epic quote before his first game against Ohio State.
“There will be blood on the field and it won’t be mine. … Quote it. Let them know.”
Now that’s just something a player who was born to be a Raider would say. That being said, he’s likely only around just in case injuries are to occur. The team can always use more depth on the offensive line. Gabe Jackson returned in Week 7 against the Green Bay Packers and Richie Incognito has been solid since his return from suspension. Oakland is pretty set at offensive guard. The team hasn’t given up a sack in the last two games and they’ll be looking to keep it up versus the Houston Texans in Week 8. It should be a tough task with the likes of J.J. Watt lining up on the defensive line.
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