Getty Las Vegas Raiders HC Jon Gruden.
The Las Vegas Raiders did a big thing for rookie linebacker Javin White by calling him up to the active roster to play the first-ever NFL game in the city he played college football in. He did get a chance to play a few snaps but didn’t make an impact. He’s young and raw so he shouldn’t be expected to.
However, he wasn’t impressive enough in his NFL debut to keep a spot on the active roster as the team announced that they’re sending him back to the practice squad.
LB Javin White has been reverted to the practice squad.
Thanks to new NFL rules, teams can promote players from the practice squad and send them back without them having to clear waivers. There will probably be a lot more cases of the Raiders promoting players for a brief time than sending them back to the practice squad pretty quickly.
There’s excitement surrounding White thanks to his strong training camp but he’s got some work to do if he wants to carve a spot on the roster. He’s athletically gifted and has shown a strong competitive nature. He could have a bright future with the Raiders but it’s going to take some time.
This Could Mean Good News for Nick Kwiatkoski
The fact that the Raiders were so quick to send White back to the practice squad could mean that there is hope that Nick Kwiatkoski could be coming back soon. He had to miss the Week 2 game against the New Orleans Saints due to a pectoral injury but the fact that the Raiders haven’t put him on injured reserve yet means that he’s probably nearing a return.
The team had serious trouble in the middle of the field against the Saints. Alvin Kamara seemed to gain big chunks of yards every time he touched the ball. Getting Kwiatkoski back out there should help with stopping running backs.
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Raiders Defense Still Figuring Things Out
The Raiders do deserve some credit for holding a good Saints offense to only 24 points en route to a win but they don’t get a pass. Kamara put up over 150 yards from scrimmage and Drew Brees threw for over 300 yards. New Orleans seemed to gain yards pretty easily but got hit with a ton of penalties. Las Vegas did tend to clamp down whenever the Saints got into their territory but there are still some big red flags.
The Raiders defensive line didn’t sack Brees once. They did get some pressure from time to time but didn’t get all that close to taking him down. That means that the defense has one sack through two games. Rookie Damon Arnette was much better in his second career game and Johnathan Abram looks like a stud but not even the best secondaries in the NFL can overcome a lack of pass rush. Maxx Crosby was great last year but he doesn’t have the element of surprise on his side anymore. Teams are game-planning for him and he hasn’t figured things out yet. There is talent on that defensive line. If they can figure out how to get after the quarterback, the Raiders defense could turn out to be solid.
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