The Las Vegas Raiders are hurting at linebacker right now with multiple players getting hurt against the Washington Football Team. In response, the team signed veteran Will Compton, who was on the roster in 2019. The 32-year-old linebacker has bounced around the NFL for years and it appears that he’s ready to start winding down.
Shortly after announcing that he signed with the Raiders, Compton took to Twitter to drop a rather interesting piece of information. He bluntly said that “this is my farewell tour” and jokingly compared it to former NBA superstar Kobe Bryant’s last season.
He didn’t directly say that he’ll be retiring after the season but that’s what it sounds like. Compton has had trouble keeping a consistent roster spot over the last few years so he could be ready to move on and focus on other things. He’s the co-host of the popular Bussin’ With The Boys podcast so he has plenty of stuff going on off the field. Despite the fact that he’s been out of football all season, he could be getting a shot to make his last season in the NFL memorable.
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Compton Could Be Thrust Into Action Soon
Compton played with the Raiders not that long ago but they run a different defense now under defensive coordinator Gus Bradley. He doesn’t have a ton of experience playing in a similar defense so there should be an adjustment period. However, he may not get the chance to slowly get acclimated to the defense.
Interim head coach Rich Bisaccia revealed on Friday that linebacker Patrick Onwuasor will be out Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs and starting middle linebacker Denzel Perryman will be doubtful. This comes after the news that linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski was put on Injured Reserve.
Nicholas Morrow is still on Injured Reserved so the Raiders are getting very thin at linebacker. That could thrust Compton into the defensive rotation on Sunday. He’s on the practice squad currently but the team can promote him before the game. It’s not ideal for a new linebacker to come in and make his season debut against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs but the Raiders may not have a choice.
Raiders in for Tough Sunday
The Raiders are less than a month removed from getting blown out by the Chiefs at home. In that game, they had their linebackers and tight end Darren Waller. For this week’s matchup, the team could be missing Perryman and Waller has already been ruled out. The Raiders really need to win this game if they hope to get back in the playoff raise but it’s not going to come easy.
Quarterback Derek Carr is going to need to step up if they’ll have any hope of winning. The Chiefs are on a five-game winning streak and are playing some of the best defense in football. However, their offense has been lackluster and Mahomes is having his worst season. If the Raiders defense can do their job and keep the game low-scoring, they’ll have a chance.
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Recently Signed Raiders LB Suggests This Will Be Last Season in NFL