Getty Oakland Raiders' Vontaze Burfict & Jon Gruden.
It was just a week ago when the Oakland Raiders decided to re-sign Brandon Marshall to the roster. Well, things didn’t last long as he’s already been released from the team without having played a game for them, Jon Gruden announced to the media.
“We released Brandon Marshall, hard thing to do – linebacker,” said Gruden.
He was inactive for the game against the Detroit Lions and it marks the second time he’s been released by the team within the last several months. The reason he was let go was that the team is finally activating rookie cornerback Isaiah Johnson to the active roster after he dealt with an injury for the first half of the season.
“[Johnson’s] another young corner,” said Gruden. “Like we said a couple of weeks ago when we made the [Gareon Conley] trade, we’d like to see Isaiah play the second half of the season and see him develop.”
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Some Saw Johnson as a Huge ‘Steal’ in the Draft
The 2019 draft class is already paying huge dividends to the Raiders. All four of the team’s touchdowns against the Lions in Week 9 came from rookies. Oakland is already getting huge returns from two of their fourth-round picks in Maxx Crosby and Foster Moreau. Johnson has the potential to be a bigger steal than both of those guys. Pro Football Focus said that Johnson was one of the biggest steals of the draft when the team selected him back in April. Here’s what they had to say:
Johnson was seen as one of the draft’s biggest boom-or-bust prospects, though securing him in the fourth-round eliminates much of the bust risk. That low investment could pay big dividends with Johnson’s traits. At 6-foot-2, 208 pounds with 33” arms, a 4.40-second 40-yard dash, 11′-1″ broad jump, 6.81 three-cone and 4.06 short shuttle, Johnson is how you’d build an ideal cornerback. He simply needs some seasoning after moving to corner from receiver only two years ago.
The former wide receivers boast elite athletic traits. He’s tall, fast and can jump very high. His size could be invaluable against bigger wide receivers in the NFL. He suffered a brutal facial injury during the preseason, which has set him back quite a bit. He should get plenty of opportunities to make a name for himself on the defense, but there are going to be growing pains. He should be a big part of the Raiders’ youth movement going forward.
Raiders Injury Report
The Raiders have a short week ahead of them with a Thursday night matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers. The team got banged up at some key positions against the Lions, so it’s not an ideal situation. Based on the team’s official injury report, Trent Brown, Rodney Hudson, Arden Key, Nicholas Morrow and Daryl Worley all missed Monday’s practice due to injury. All of those players were Week 1 starters for the team.
Rodney Hudson’s injury seems to be the most serious out of all of them as he missed the game against the Lions. Gruden said that Trent Brown is going in for an MRI, so his status should be updated soon. If any of these guys can’t go on Thursday, that would be cause for concern.
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