Against all odds, the Las Vegas Raiders are in the playoffs. Ahead of their Saturday matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals, the team is making a number of roster adjustments as they attempt to win their first playoff game since 2002. We’ve already seen Will Compton get cut and Isaiah Buggs get signed but the team wasn’t done there.
They also announced that they’ve signed tight end Daniel Helm and linebacker Justin March-Lillard to the practice.
We have released WR Javon Wims and LB Asmar Bilal from the practice squad.
In order to make room for those two players, the team had to release wide receiver Javon Wims and linebacker Asmar Bilal. Helm and March-Lillard were both on the team recently but were let go. They’ll now get another chance on the practice squad. Helm played in nine games for the Raiders while Derek Carrier was nursing an injury. He’ll be a valuable piece to have on the practice squad. Las Vegas is starting to get healthy at linebacker, which may make it difficult for March-Lillard to see the field against the Bengals.
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Nicholas Morrow Set to Return?
In a surprising development, it looks like Nicholas Morrow could make his season debut in the playoffs. Prior to the season, he appeared set to be the defense’s starting middle linebacker. He suffered a foot injury during a joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams in training camp and never returned.
This led to the Raiders trading for Denzel Perryman, who has been a revelation for the team and was elected to this year’s Pro Bowl. That said, Morrow is a talented linebacker and one of the longest-tenured members of the team as he joined them in 2017. Considering he hasn’t played a down of football all season, it’s a longshot that he actually plays meaningful snaps against the Bengals but there’s always a chance he could play. He certainly deserves to be part of this playoff run.
Defense Could Determine Raiders-Bengals Matchup
Over the last few years, the Raiders have been built on offense. Jon Gruden was an offensive-minded coach and the team spent most of their money on that side of the ball. Heading into this season, the team hired defensive coordinator Gus Bradley and used a lot of cap space and draft capital to bring in more defensive talent. While the numbers aren’t great (the team allowed 25.8 points a game this season), there’s no denying the defense has been key in the Raiders’ four-game win streak to end the season.
With the weather in Cincinnati expected to be freezing and cloudy, the offense could be in for a rocky day. The Raiders need a great performance from their defense to slow down a high-powered Bengals offense. The bad weather will certainly help the defense and Las Vegas does have the more talented defense. If the Raiders can turn this into an ugly game, they’ll have a strong chance to win. The defense just needs to continue to step up.
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