Getty Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels.
The Las Vegas Raiders needed some offensive line help this week with the injury to Alex Bars and the decision to cut John Simpson. That left the team without a viable option at right guard. Luckily, they were able to find a piece.
The Raiders poached offensive guard Netane Muti off of the Denver Broncos practice squad. The former Fresno State standout hadn’t gotten much of a chance to play this season and just saw his first snaps of the year against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Raiders added him to their active roster so his chances of playing more snaps have increased. However, that doesn’t tell the whole story.
According to former Broncos player turned-radio host Orlando Franklin, Denver actually tried to keep Muti by offering him a spot on their active roster.
NFL insider Benjamin Allbright confirmed the rumor and said that the Broncos were willing to match whatever offer the Raiders have Muti.
@BroncoChris1970 They offered to match.
In the end, Las Vegas was more appealing to the offensive lineman. That could’ve been due to the Raiders offering more playing time or just the fact that he’d be able to play with two Fresno State legends in Derek Carr and Davante Adams. Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett wasn’t happy to lose Muti to a division rival.
“Yes, of course,” Hackett said Wednesday. “He was a guy that was on this team, and he’s been here throughout the whole year. Any time you lose a guy, you’re upset about it, but I wish him well.”
McDaniels Addresses Decision to Cut Simpson
Based on how the season has gone, it was clear that Simpson didn’t have much of a future in Las Vegas. He opened the season as a starter but got benched after Week 2. He finally got a chance to get back on the field against the Los Angeles Rams and played poorly. It was still surprising when the Raiders cut him due to the injury to Bars but they wanted to go in a different direction.
Head coach Josh McDaniels spoke about what went into the decision to cut the former fourth-round pick.
“No, it’s just those are tough. Dave and I, we’ve spent a lot of time talking about the roster in general,” McDaniels said Wednesday. “John [Simpson] did some really good things here and we just felt like we’re going to give some other guys some opportunities now and see what they can do with them that they’ve earned, that’s it.”
McDaniels Updates Bars’ Injury Status
What the Raiders’ plans are at right guard remains to be seen. Bars hasn’t practiced this week yet. Having Muti play on such short notice would be a tall order but the team might not have a choice as they’re facing a very good New England Patriots defensive line on Sunday. McDaniels gave an update on Bars and discussed how tough the Patriots’ defensive line is.
“Alex, he’s working hard to try to get back as soon as he can. I don’t know if this week or not he’ll make it, but he’s doing everything he can, I know that. Yeah, this is a really good group from top to bottom,” McDaniels said. “They have depth, they’re physical, they’re big inside. They’re long. They have a lot of guys who play on the edge: [Matthew] Judon, [Josh] Uche, [Anfernee] Jennings. I mean, they move [Ja’Whaun] Bentley out there sometimes. Deatrich Wise [Jr.] is out there. So, there’s a lot of different bodies that they will throw at you in their alignments and in their different defensive packages.”