Getty NFL WR Keelan Doss.
After some surprising cuts and a shocking trade, the Las Vegas Raiders are have finally cut their roster down to 53 players. Due to the truncated offseason, a lot of players probably didn’t get a fair shake and there are some notable names the team is moving on from. Here are the following players who have been waived:
- Marcell Ateman WR
- Nick Bowers TE
- Lester Cotton Sr. C
- Keelan Doss WR
- Madre Harper DB
- Dylan Mabin CB
- Mike Panasiuk DT
- Justin Phillips LB
- De’Mornay Pierson-El WR
- Kamaal Seymour T
- Javin White LB
Other teams will now have a chance to claim any of the above players. If they clear waivers, they will be free agents and the Raiders will have a chance to sign any of them to the practice squad. Those weren’t the only cuts as the team did move on from some veterans. The following players were released so they don’t hit waivers:
- Kyle Emanuel LB
- Datone Jones DE
- Theo Riddick RB
- Chris Smith DE
- Kyle Wilber LB
- Sam Young T
Lastly, the Raiders revealed that Eric Kush will be placed on the injured reserve. The veteran guard signed this offseason but will have to wait a while to make his Las Vegas debut; if he ever does.
Down to 53.
We have made the following roster moves » t.co/FTJ3VnehjM
Biggest Takeaways From Roster Cuts
All the big moves have already been reported on but there were some notable cuts made. Wide receiver Keelan Doss became a fan favorite last year thanks to HBO’s Hard Knocks. Unforuatnely, that popularity didn’t translate to on the field success. He had plenty of opportunities to step up last season but didn’t. With Doss and Marcell Atemen getting cut, that means that the Raiders kept Rico Gafford, which should have some fans fired up.
Sam Young getting cut is a bit of a surprise. The team traded David Sharpe recently and it looked like it was because the plan was to have Young back up Trent Brown. However, it appears that Brandon Parker won that job.
Kyle Wilber was the captain of the special teams last season so it was reasonable to believe that he’d stick around.
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Who Makes Practice Squad
While it was probably tough to cut a lot of these players, many of them will get a second chance on the practice squad. Out of the veterans, the Raiders will probably try to keep Young, Theo Riddick and possibly Datone Jones. They’re free to sign wherever they want and some might not want to be on a practice squad when they could feasibly make an active roster.
It’s slightly different for the players who hit waivers. Many of those guys were undrafted free agents and aren’t household names. The most likely player the Raiders are going to fight to keep is linebacker Javin White. He was very impressive in training camp but it was hard to fit him into a revamped linebacker group. Mike Panasiuk and Madre Harper are also likely candidates for the squad.
Marcell Ateman essentially lives on the practice squad now and the Raiders will probably push to keep him. Doss could also get an offer but it remains to be seen if a team will take a chance on him. With the expanded practice squad roster, the Raiders could keep almost all of these players if they wanted to.
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