Getty Former Raiders DL Isaac Rochell.
In order to make room for new cornerback Jack Jones, the Las Vegas Raiders had to cut defensive lineman Isaac Rochell from the active roster. However, the timing of the decision was questionable.
Earlier in the day on November 14, the Raiders posted a video on X honoring Rochell’s brother’s military service in the Air Force. Just a few hours later, they announced that Rochell was getting cut.
The veteran defensive lineman couldn’t but react.
“This is objectively really bad timing,” Rochell wrote on X in response to the Raiders posting the video about his brother.
Now, the Raiders’ social media team likely doesn’t have insight into who is getting cut and when the announcement is going to happen. They almost certainly were working on this video in the days prior to the team adding Jones.
Regardless, it’s understandable why Rochell would have a reaction to the timing of his release but it’s not out of the question that he gets brought back onto the practice squad.
Antonio Pierce Not Trying to Look Ahead
Since Antonio Pierce took over for Josh McDaniels as the Raiders’ interim head coach, the team is 2-0. At 5-5, the team is still in the thick of the playoff race. They have a tough stretch coming up against the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs. If they can steal a win in one of those games, they’d have to feel good about their chances of making a run.
However, Pierce isn’t thinking about the future right now. He’s taking everything on a week-to-week basis right now.
“I don’t think we’re about making a run,” Pierce said during his November 13 press conference. “What we’ve been doing is page by page, step by step, not cheating the process. We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves. Obviously, the belief is getting there. We’re believing in one another, trusting one another, being accountable to one another, playing for one another and being together.
“We’ll count the wins at the end of the season, but right now we’re still trying to build that foundation.”
It’s still early in Pierce’s tenure and he hasn’t played a game on the road yet since taking over. While the Raiders are playing better than they have all season, it’s still too early to know for sure if they can be contenders.
Las Vegas Raiders Defense Playing Well
The key to the Raiders’ season could be the defense. The group has played well in recent weeks and didn’t allow a single touchdown against the New York Jets in Week 10. Las Vegas has most of its talent on offense but if the defense plays well, there’s a chance they could be a playoff threat.
Defensive tackle Bilal Nichols has seen the defense struggle since he joined the team last season and he’s happy that things are finally coming together.
“It feels great,” Nichols said of not giving up a touchdown to the Jets, via Raiders.com. “That’s how you know everything is starting to come together. We’re starting to play like a team. That’s always a win when you go out there, keep points off the board – especially touchdowns. Force teams to kick field goals when they get down there [in the red zone] and make it tough on them.
“We did everything we wanted to accomplish today,” continued Nichols. “Any time you get a win, you want to keep on stacking them. That was something that we preached all week long. We didn’t want to come out and be an emotional roller coaster. Last week was a lot of emotions, this week we had controlled chaos and kept our emotions in check.”