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The Las Vegas Raiders held a workout for an offensive lineman with ties to the Kansas City Chiefs. Las Vegas brought guard Kelechi Osemele into its facility on Tuesday, September 13, according to NFL’s transaction wire.
Raiders worked out Kelechi Osemele and Vernon Hargreaves today
Kelechi enter the league as a second-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2012. Since then, he has spent four seasons with the Ravens, three with the Raiders, and one with the New York Jets.
Kelechi joined the Chiefs in July of 2020 and started five games for them during the 2020 season at left guard before landing on injured reserve on October 17, per Pro Football Reference. Osemele tore tendons in both knees which is why he landed on IR, but the injuries also put into question whether he would ever play football again.
On September 1, Osemele began his NFL comeback by holding a workout with the Chicago Bears, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. The Bears didn’t sign Osemele, but the Raiders might spark his return to football by signing him and potentially inserting him into their starting lineup.
Las Vegas’ offensive line struggled in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Chargers — quarterback Derek Carr was sacked five times in that game — so Osemele could potentially help with that.
Spags Gushes Over Justin Herbert
Speaking to the media on September 12, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was asked about Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert — whom the Chiefs will face on Thursday Night Football in Week 2 — and gushed over him.
“Yeah, I have him – and have had him since he got in the league – as one of the top guys,” Spags said. “He just gets better and better. And it’s a different quarterback challenge, right? It’s not the smaller, quick – now this guy can be elusive – but he’s got the whole package in my opinion.
“From the chin to the hairline, he’s really smart – that’s why they do a lot of things with him. He’s big and can throw over people. He rarely takes a hit because he gets rid of the ball. He gets them in and out of bad plays and into good plays. So what you’re doing on the backend as far as disguises is really important. And I think with the weapons he has – and I know there’s a possibility he might be down with one of his weapons – but I think he utilizes them all really well, he spreads them all over the field and that’s what makes it a challenge to defend these guys.”
Karlaftis Embraces Competing Against Herbert
Rookie first-round pick George Karlaftis had a great NFL debut in Week 1, recording 5 quarterback hurries and 1 quarterback hit against the Arizona Cardinals, per PFF.
Karlaftis was asked about facing Herbert in Week 2 and embraced the challenge of taking on another top NFL quarterback in back-to-back weeks.
“This guy is one of the best, you know, that we’re gonna play,” Karlaftis said. “We have a lot of respect for him on the defensive side. He’s going to bring a lot of challenges, but we’re gonna be bring ready I think.”
The Chiefs face the Chargers on Thursday, September 15 at 8:15 p.m. CST.
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