Getty New Las Vegas Raiders LB Tae Davis.
The Las Vegas Raiders have been able to stay relatively healthy throughout training camp but are facing issues at linebacker. Recently signed veteran Jordan Jenkins got injured in his first preseason game and Kyler Fackrell is out for the year. Denzel Perryman and Divine Deablo appear to have set themselves apart as the two starters but there’s still opportunity behind them.
The Raiders appear interested in adding more depth with a recent roster move. According to agent David Canter, Las Vegas has signed veteran linebacker Tae Davis.
Congratulations to @gsefootball client @Tae_Davis1 on signing with @Raiders. #theautumnwindisaRaider
Davis has been in the NFL since 2018 when he was an undrafted free agent of the New York Giants. He spent two seasons with the team before moving on to the Cleveland Browns. In three seasons, he has 2.0 sacks and 52 combined tackles. Davis landed with the Houston Texans last season but missed the year due to an injury. He was just recently cut by the team but was impressive in a recent preseason game. According to Pro Football Focus, Davis earned an 80.7 grade against the Los Angeles Rams.
The #Raiders signed LB Tae Davis, per his agent @davidcanter.
Davis was released by the Texans on Sunday. Posted an 80.7 @PFF grade in Friday’s preseason game.
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Do Raiders Have Enough at LB?
Linebacker has been a position of struggle for a long time for the Raiders. They’ve had a difficult time solving the issue. Last year, it was a solid group led by Pro Bowler Denzel Perryman. He’ll be back this season but gone are K.J. Wright, Cory Littleton and Nick Kwiatkoski.
Las Vegas is relying on a lot of young players at linebacker heading into this season. Perryman is highly important to the team which is concerning considering he’s never been able to play a whole season without injury. The Raiders must have a lot of faith in some of their young players.
Antonio Pierce Praises Deablo
Deablo could be one of the keys to the defense in 2022. The Raiders know what they have in Perryman but the second-year linebacker would make a big difference if he took a leap. He played safety in college so he was expected to take time to adjust to linebacker. He adjusted much quicker than the team expected. New linebacker coach Antonio Pierce believes that Deablo is still growing.
“Somebody that’s getting comfortable playing linebacker,” Pierce said recently about Deablo. “That transition is never easy. Everybody thinks you can just go in there and play; but your eyes are trained differently. I think he’s done an outstanding job of not just training his eyes, but communicating, being a more vocal player. We’ve asked him to do a lot, he’s done a lot. He’s embraced that, and obviously he has a skill set that’s very important to our defense. The things he can do being able to cover, run and the pressures. The growth of him has been pleasant so far.”
The Raiders made a lot of poor draft decisions in recent years but it’s looking like Deablo could’ve been a steal in the fourth round last year.
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