Getty Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels.
The Las Vegas Raiders pulled off some notable moves on cutdown day but the one that got the most coverage was the team’s decision to waive offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood. The 2021 first-round pick only lasted one season with the team before they decided to give up on him. Luckily, the Chicago Bears claimed him off waivers so they didn’t have to eat all of the guarantees left on his contract.
While Leatherwood clearly wasn’t playing at a high enough level to earn a roster spot, it was surprising to see the Raiders give up on him so quickly. He was a high draft pick and usually, those types of players get a few chances to prove their worth. Not to new Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels. The coach had a chance to talk about the decision to let Leatherwood go and gave some insight.
“We’ve talked about competition since we came here in every position group and trying to give every player an opportunity to earn his job, and to earn his role — whatever role that may be,” McDaniels said in a Wednesday press conference. “Some are bigger than others. And we felt like we did that. We gave everybody an opportunity to go out there and play and really perform. So there’s a lot of tough decisions that you make across the roster. You hope you get them all right. We’re not perfect at that. So, hopefully, we did the best we could for our team and we tried to make the decisions we thought would help us going forward.
“So, wish Alex nothing but the best. He did everything he could here to try to earn his role here.”
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Leatherwood Playing RT for Bears?
The Raiders drafted Leatherwood to be the right tackle of the future but moved him to guard during last season due to his struggles. The new coaching staff decided to put him back at right tackle but things didn’t get any better. For some reason, the team didn’t try him out at guard before they waived him.
Leatherwood had more success at guard and could become a serviceable starter at the position. However, it appears the Bears don’t see on the interior. Leatherwood told the media that Chicago is having him play at right tackle.
New Bears O-lineman Alex Leatherwood tells us he worked at right tackle today.
In the end, the Bears might have to come to the conclusion that he belongs at guard.
McDaniels Talks UDFAs Who Made Team
One thing that stood out about the Raiders’ final roster was the fact that four undrafted rookies made the roster. Cornerback Sam Webb, safety Isaiah Pola-Mao and linebackers Darien Butler and Luke Masterson all made the active roster after impressive training camps. McDaniels was thrilled to see so many underdogs step things up.
“It’s really not about how you got here, it’s about what you do when you get here,” McDaniels said. “And those guys, they’ve been out there every day, they’re durable. They’ve performed when they’ve had their opportunities. They’ve improved. They work really hard. And it’s important to them.
“The competition doesn’t end today or yesterday. You got to continue to earn that and those guys have definitely shown the attitude and the effort to be able to do that.”
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Raiders’ Josh McDaniels Has Strong Words for Alex Leatherwood