Getty New Las Vegas Raiders CB Rejzohn Wright.
The Las Vegas Raiders are bringing a young cornerback to the practice squad. The team announced on October 5 that they are adding former Carolina Panthers cornerback Rejzohn Wright.
Wright was an undrafted free agent signing of the Panthers this offseason but was cut following training camp. He played college ball at Oregon State where he played in 26 games. Over that time, he had 64 solo tackles and four interceptions. He was named First-team All-Pac-12 for his work in 2022.
Prior to attending Oregon State, Wright played at Laney College – a community college in Oakland, California. He was able to land at Oregon State after appearing on the fifth season of Netflix “Last Chance U.” The show exists to help junior college football players work their way to bigger programs. Wright is a success story for the show already and now it’s time to see if has any NFL potential.
To make room for Wright, the Raiders released rookie tight end John Samuel Shenker.
Las Vegas Raiders Have Injuries at Cornerback
The Raiders are a good landing spot for Rejzohn Wright as he may have a chance to play this season. In the team’s October 5 injury report, it was revealed that cornerbacks Jakorian Bennett (limited), David Long Jr. (limited) and Nate Hobbs (did not participate) are all dealing with injuries right now.
Hobbs was out for the Week 4 game against the Los Angeles Chargers and it appears he could be out for even longer. The Raiders are already thin at cornerback so missing any of the three aforementioned players could be a problem. Marcus Peters and Amik Robertson are the only healthy cornerbacks on the team right now.
With the addition of Wright, the Raiders have three cornerbacks on the practice squad. Tyler Hall played seven games for the team last season and already played a game this season. He’ll be first on the practice squad to get elevated if the team needs help. Troy Pride Jr. would likey be second to get the nod with Wright needing some time to get used to the system.
Jakorian Bennett Has Room for Improvement
Rookie fourth-round pick cornerback Jakorian Bennett quickly impressed this offseason and earned a starting spot with the Raiders. Unfortunately, he is experiencing some growing pains early in his career.
The Athletic’s Vic Tafur believes that Bennett has shown some flashes but still needs a lot of work before he’s a dependable cornerback.
“Bennett is very fast, smart, aggressive and a very good tackler,” Tafur wrote in an October 5 column. “But being a rookie against some of the ultra athletic and skilled receivers in the NFL is tough, and Bennett has allowed 11.1 yards per target as the primary defender — ninth worst among 79 cornerbacks with 10-plus targets per Pro Football Focus.
“I thought veteran David Long Jr. should have started the season as Bennett got his feet under him, and last week Long played the majority of snaps for the first time. Still, Bennett has flashed the most potential of anyone on this list. He is going to be fine.”
Bennett has a bright future ahead of him but it’s going to take some time. He has the skill set to be a very good player but his aggressiveness is holding him back right now.