Getty Former Raiders LB Te'Von Coney.
The Las Vegas Raiders have been dealing with injuries as of late so they decided to swing a trade with the Carolina Panthers for Denzel Perryman. The former Los Angeles Chargers starter is a perfect fit to return to Gus Bradley’s defense and should provide some help until Nicholas Morrow gets healthy. If Perryman’s health checks out, the team should be feeling a lot better about their linebacker depth.
Unfortunately for one young player, the Raiders had to make a cut to make room for Perryman. The team announced that they’re letting go of linebacker Te’von Coney.
Coney was re-signed by Las Vegas just last week after spending some time with the team last year. The former Notre Dame standout has yet to get a chance to play a regular-season game. He was on the Raiders’ practice squad for some of the 2019 season but didn’t see any game action. He’ll be on the team’s radar in case any other injuries at linebacker occur.
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Gus Bradley Talks Perryman Addition
Though the Raiders have yet to announce the Perryman trade, it should be official in the coming days. The Coney roster move pretty much ensures that. With the regular season starting in just a couple of weeks, the veteran linebacker is going to have to play catch up. Fortunately for him, he played under Bradley for four years in Los Angeles. The defensive coordinator is excited to have him back.
“Denzel, we have a lot of history with him just from our time back with the Chargers. He’s a very good leader, very good pro. He brings some explosiveness to us,” Bradley said after Thursday’s practice. “He’s got very good instincts. He understands the package and what is asked of him. So we just need to create some more depth there because of some of the situations we’ve been in. So, healthy and coming back in and able to play, he’ll be a good addition.”
Perryman joins Casey Hayward and Darius Philon as fellow former Chargers who followed Bradley to Las Vegas. It’s never ideal to be thrust into a key role with a team at the tail end of training camp but Perryman is in a good situation to adjust.
Will Perryman Be Ready to Start Week 1?
While Perryman should eventually start at middle linebacker for the Raiders, it could be a while before that actually happens. The veteran has been open about the fact that he’s not going to take the COVID-19 vaccine. That means he’ll have to pass certain protocols before he can even join the Raiders team.
Also, he’s been slightly banged up over the last few weeks and has a hip issue. Prior to getting traded to the Raiders, he was sitting out of practice because he got stepped on. Injuries have been an issue for Perryman throughout his career so that could make it take longer for him to see the field. With that in mind, Nick Kwiatkoski will be the likely starter at middle linebacker for Week 1. It’s anybody’s guess what will happen after that.
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