Getty New Las Vegas Raiders LB Austin Calitro.
The Las Vegas Raiders‘ defensive line put together its best performance of the season against the Los Angeles Chargers. Justin Herbert was under pressure for most of the game and was sacked five times. The Raiders’ defense was last in the NFL in sacks for much of the year but has now jumped past four other teams after a string of solid performances.
One area the Raiders need to continue to improve is interior pass rushing. Maxx Crosby and Chandler Jones are proven outside rushers but they haven’t gotten much help from the interior of the defensive line. The Raiders have decided to change some things up. The team announced that they’ve signed Kyle Peko from the practice squad to the active roster.
In a corresponding move, the Raiders released Kendal Vickers. Peko has been on and off the team’s roster a couple of times this season but they’ve seen something they like. Vickers has been with the team for three seasons and even survived the coaching regime change. He’ll likely be brought back on the practice squad if he clears waivers. He’s been banged up at points this season so the Raiders likely decided they preferred having Peko on the active roster as he’s fully healthy right now.
Raiders Add Veteran LB
The Cleveland Browns decided to poach veteran linebacker Reggie Ragland off the Raiders’ practice squad so Las Vegas had an opening. They decided to fill it with Austin Calitro. The veteran linebacker has been in the NFL since 2017 and has played for nine other teams in his career.
Calitro is certainly experienced as he’s played in 52 career games, including 11 starts. He spent a portion of this season with the New York Giants but was recently released. With the Raiders getting healthier at linebacker, they won’t need Calitro to play immediately but he’s a logical replacement for a veteran like Ragland. He could also be a special teams contributor if the team needs it.
Chandler Jones Named Defensive Play of the Week
The season got off to a rough start for Chandler Jones. He went 11 games without notching a full sack. He was frequently referred to as the Raiders’ most disappointing player and fans were not pleased with the big contract the team gave him. He finally decided to go off in Week 12 against the Chargers.
Jones has 3.0 sacks and was consistently harassing Justin Herbert throughout the game. He also has 11 pressures on the game, per Pro Football Focus. For his efforts, Jones was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week.
Couldn’t be stopped on Sunday 😤
@chanjones55 is the AFC Defensive Player of the Week!
It was big for Jones to finally get over the hump but he’s downplaying how important it was.
“There was no sigh of relief,” Jones said Sunday. “Honestly, I feel like earlier in my career stats were a huge thing, but where I am now, it’s about winning. If I had zero sacks on the season and we went deep in the playoffs, that would be huge for me.”
Sacks aren’t the only way a defensive end affects the game but Jones is happy to get them when he can.
“The sacks are good to have, don’t get me wrong,” Jones said. “To walk off the field with three sacks … I could have had five.”
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