Getty Jon Gruden with Pete Carroll.
The Las Vegas Raiders social media made a pretty big blunder this week. It was revealed on Monday that the team was releasing former third-round pick Tanner Muse, which happened to be his birthday. Despite the news being widely reported, the Raiders sent him a birthday message on Twitter.
They quickly deleted the tweet but it was already screenshotted and it made the rounds online.
This is a little awkward…
Muse ended up signing with the Seattle Seahawks practice squad. Their social media team decided to use the opportunity to take a shot at the Raiders by wishing the linebacker a belated birthday.
That’s some shade thrown towards the team’s former AFC West rival. Though the two don’t share a division anymore, there’s still a bit of a rivalry there. While the Seahawks win this round, the Raiders still put up one of the greatest highlights in NFL history against the team, courtesy of one Bo Jackson.
Today in 1987, Bo Jackson runs over Brian Bosworth on his way to 221 rushing yards on Monday Night Football. 🏈💪🏼
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Raiders Were Willing to Bring Muse Back
Muse probably isn’t too happy with how things ended in Las Vegas. They had plenty of time to move on from him all offseason and decided to wait until his birthday to pull the trigger. Obviously, the Raiders didn’t do that intentionally but it’s not the best way to go about things.
Though they cut him, the team was willing to bring him back to the practice squad, according to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
For clarity on Tanner Muse, according to source the @Raiders did make a practice squad offer to the young LB
Muse may have turned down the Raiders because of how things went down but it’s more likely that he saw more opportunity with the Seahawks. They have a much thinner linebacker corps than the Raiders do. It’s not a great look that Las Vegas essentially wasted a third-round pick but it became apparent pretty quickly that he wasn’t a great fit with the team.
Can Muse Turn Things Around in Seattle?
Muse will now get a chance to turn things around in Seattle without the pressure of being a high draft pick. He was a safety at Clemson and has had a really tough time transitioning to linebacker. With the Seahawks needing linebackers, they will likely keep him there and not move him back to safety.
Muse will have to work his way up through special teams play. When he was drafted, he referred to himself as a “special teams war daddy.” That’s what the Seahawks should see him as. He’s on the practice squad so he won’t play every week but the team can promote him from time to time. Due to his struggles at linebacker, he’s more of a project. It’s hard to see him doing a ton this year outside of special teams. That said, he does have talent and could be a solid project for the Seahawks. Head coach Pete Carroll is a defensive guru so perhaps he can get the best out of the young linebacker.
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