Getty Former Ohio State WR Austin Mack.
A new era has begun for the Las Vegas Raiders with the resignation of head coach Jon Gruden. He was in charge of all roster personnel moves and now the team is left to figure things out. With the NFL season in full swing, there’s only so much the team can do to tink with the roster.
However, the Raiders clearly would like to shake things up at least a little bit. On Tuesday, the team brought in 10 players for workouts and visits.
NFL workouts and visits @SportsTalk790
Here’s a list of the players the Raiders worked out:
- Bayless, Omar WR Arkansas State
- Brown, Tony DB Alabama
- Butler, Hakeem TE Iowa State
- Mack, Austin WR Ohio State
- McDougald, Bradley DB Kansas
- Raymond, Dax TE Utah State
- Skipper, Dan T Arkansas
- Smith, Sutton LB Northern Illinois
- Watford, Earl G James Madison
- Webster, Ken DB Mississippi
As of now, the Raiders have yet to officially sign any of these players but it’s clear they’d like to get their eyes on a lot of guys.
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Any Intriguing Players Among the Workouts?
GettyNFL free agent OL Earl Watford.
With major issues on the offensive line all season, Dan Skipper and Earl Watford should be names to watch. Skipper has been in the NFL since 2017 but has only played in 12 career games, nine of them with the Detroit Lions. Watford could be an intriguing option at guard. He’s played in 71 career games, including 25 starts.
Austin Mack is another interesting name. The 24-year-old wide receiver out of Ohio State played in 11 games for the New York Giants last season and caught seven passes for 91 yards. The Raiders also have injury issues at cornerback. Trayvon Mullen and Damon Arnette were just recently put on the injured reserve. Perhaps that opens up a spot for Tony Brown, Ken Webster or Bradley McDougald. All three of those players have been in the NFL for multiple years.
The Season Isn’t Over for the Raiders
Unfortunately for the Raiders, the scandal surrounding Gruden happened early in the season. There are still 12 more regular-season games for them to play. If the team wasn’t good, they could just call it a day and phone it in for the rest of the season. However, the Raiders are 3-2 and in the mix for a playoff spot.
It’s a tall order to ask this team to win enough games to get into the playoffs with their head coach gone but it’s not impossible. Interim head coach Rich Bisaccia is respected across the team and should be able to rally the troops. The biggest concern will be the offense. Gruden ran the offense and it was made in his image. Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley has had control of the defense so not much will change there. Offensive coordinator Greg Olson hasn’t called plays under Gruden but has in the past. Luckily, the Raiders have a very smart quarterback in Derek Carr who should be able to keep the offense afloat. It’s a tough time for Las Vegas right now but the season is far from over.
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