There’s only so much the Las Vegas Raiders can do to remake the roster during the season now that former head coach Josh McDaniels is gone, but they are tinkering a bit. Fullback Jakob Johnson has missed the last two games with an injury and the team has decided to go in a different direction.
Johnson announced in a November 17 X post that the Raiders have released him.
The fullback position has fallen out of favor in the NFL, and heading into the 2023 season there were only 24 active fullbacks in the league. McDaniels was a big fan of Johnson and utilized him over the past five seasons.
However, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Johnson was no longer a fit in the offense that is now being led by interim offensive coordinator Bo Hardegree.
The Raiders are 2-0 in the last two games without Johnson, so they’ve proven they don’t have a huge need for him. Considering many offenses in the NFL don’t utilize a fullback anymore, it makes sense for the team to use that roster spot on a more relevant position.
The fullbacks that do have success now in the NFL usually can have an impact in the passing game but Johnson has just 19 catches in his career.
Bo Hardegree Still Molding Offense
McDaniels was the offensive playcaller for the Raiders, and Hardegree, who had never called plays before, was tapped to replace him. He’s off to a good start with the Raiders scoring 30 points in Week 9 against the New York Giants and then scoring 16 against a very good Jets defensive in Week 10.
Hardegree was thrust into the role very quickly and is still figuring out how to go about it.
“It was great,” Hardegree said about having time to prepare for the Jets during his November 14 media availability. “We got a full week and kind of got our schedule together from the organization part. AP [Antonio Pierce] has done a great job with spearheading all that for us.
“And then for me, for the offensive side, just getting us a daily schedule, a routine, which is important and that carrying over into this week.”
Hardegree is making a strong case early on that he should earn a full-time offensive coordinator job after the season but time will tell if he’s able to keep making adjustments that lead to a productive offense.
Bo Hardegree Mostly Running Josh McDaniels’ Offense
With the Raiders halfway through the season when McDaniels was fired, it’d be impossible to do a complete overhaul of his offense, especially with a first-time offensive coordinator. For now, Hardegree is mostly running the same offense McDaniels utilized but is trying to add some things to make it his own.
“There’s a twist here and there, but our core is our core,” Hardegree said. “We’re in this part of the season, and it’s advantageous to stick to the terminology that we know. But it’s purely like I said in the first meeting we had, it’s the execution, and it’s the confidence within that to do that.”
If Hardegree keeps the offensive coordinator job, he’ll have a chance to build an offense how he wants it, but for now he has to take the best bits from McDaniels.
Raiders Cut Former Patriot & Josh McDaniels Favorite