Getty Nate Hobbs hugging Amik Robertson.
The Las Vegas Raiders are starting to get a better idea of what they have on defense now that training camp is in full swing. The team has revamped its secondary this offseason, which could be bad news for Amik Robertson.
The 2020 fourth-round pick started seven games with the Raiders last season and was tied for the team lead with two interceptions. Despite that, he could be on the outside looking in, according to Bleacher Report. Kristopher Knox listed the “Biggest Names Who Could Be Cut” prior to the season and he named Robertson among the players.
“The recent addition of Marcus Peters doesn’t help Robertson’s cause, nor does the quick ascension of fourth-round rookie Jakorian Bennett,” Knox wrote in an August 7 column. “According to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Bennett could soon be starting opposite Peters on the perimeter.
“With Nate Hobbs locking down the nickel role, Robertson could quickly become buried on the depth chart. Cutting him would save just over $1 million in cap space, which isn’t a lot. For a team with only $4.2 million in cap room, though, it’s not nothing.”
Robertson was the only Raiders cornerback to have an interception last season but the fact that he’s only 5-foot-8 has worked against him. What he lacks in size, he makes up for with toughness but that can only take him so far. With the addition of Peters and the emergence of Bennett, Robertson needs a great training camp to keep a spot on the roster.
Marcus Peters Plays Offense on Defense
The Raiders did a very poor job of turning the ball over on defense last season. The entire defense only forced six interceptions last season, which was tied with the New York Giants for worst in the NFL. The team signed Marcus Peters this offseason, who had 32-career interceptions. It remains to be seen if Peters is still the Pro Bowl-level cornerback he used to be but he believes he can still make plays on defense.
“I play offense on defense,” Peters said during his August 5 media availability. “I want to get the ball, and when the ball is in the air, you have to have the will and the want-to to go get it. And I want to go get it more than anyone else.
“We have to make sure that infects the whole locker room.”
Marcus Peters getting in some work with Sam Webb, who’s been having an impressive camp.
Jakorian Bennett Talks Training Camp Experience
The biggest surprise of training camp so far has been the performance of rookie fourth-round pick cornerback Jakorian Bennett. He has earned many first-team reps on defense opposite Marcus Peters. It’s still early in camp and he has a long way to go before he solidifies a starting position in the regular season but he’s off to a strong start.
He had a chance to talk about his training camp experience thus far.
“It’s been great,” Bennett said during his August 6 media availability. “I’m just really out there just trying to learn so I can better myself, so I can just help the team win games. To be out there with people like Maxx, (Marcus Peters), (Divine) Deablo, just all those guys, just kind of look up to them, see their routine, how they kind of maintain their bodies, talking with the safeties to try to learn the defense … it’s been good.”