The Las Vegas Raiders may have cut their roster down to 53 players, but it doesn’t mean they’re done making roster moves. With so many players becoming available, the team continues to scour the market to see what’s available.
The Raiders added safety Tristin McCollum after he was waived by the Philadelphia Eagles, but they had to make room for him
This led to Thomas Harper getting let go. He was dealing with an injury, so there was speculation that he’d be sent to the Injured Reserve, but the Raiders decided to waive him instead.
Harper first came into the NFL as an undrafted free agent of the Los Angeles Chargers last season before making his way to Las Vegas. He played in 15 games for the Raiders, starting in five. He even had an interception.
He may have been able to make the roster had he not gotten hurt. Perhaps if he gets healthy, there will be a spot on the Raiders‘ practice squad, but for now, he’ll have to look elsewhere to play.
Is Raiders Defense a Concern?
The Raiders‘ defense has some good pieces, but they are relying on a lot of youth. Defensive end Maxx Crosby is the only proven star of the group.
The secondary is especially concerning. There’s a strong chance rookie cornerback Darien Porter is going to see a lot of snaps despite the fact that he’s only been playing the position for a couple of years. The Raiders‘ offense has a chance to be great, but there is real concern about the defense.
John Spytek Points Out 2 Players Who Impressed Him
The Raiders made some surprise cuts, and part of that was due to some returning players impressive the front office and coaching staff. Running back Dylan Laube was on the outside looking in, and offensive lineman Will Putnam isn’t a household name.
General manager John Spytek singled those two names out as players who impressed him a lot in training camp.
“Will offers a lot of versatility as an interior lineman,” Spytek said. “He proved some value as a center, but also to play guard. If you’re going to go to game day with eight offensive linemen, the value in those guys on the inside is that they can play all three of those spots. And Will proved that to us, he did it day after day.
“And then with Dylan, just a relentless drive to be a good teammate and make plays. And he had good kickoff returns, and he’s making tackles on kickoff and on punt team. If you’re paying attention to the right kind of people, you just can’t deny that. And at the end of the day, I don’t really care where any of them came from whether they were a draft pick or a high-money free agent signing or an undrafted free agent or a seventh round pick. I just care if they’re good football players and can be good teammates, and I know Coach feels the same. And those two guys, I thought in spades, kind of exemplified that this training camp.”
Raiders Cut Ties With 24-Year-Old Defender to Make Room for New Player