Oakland Raiders getting early return from David Amerson

Needing cornerback depth, the Oakland Raiders scoped the waiver wire to find some talent to help a thin group of unproven players by signing David Amerson from Washington. General manager Reggie McKenzie bringing in a former second-round pick in an attempt to patch up what was regarded as the team’s weakest position group going into 2015.

Amerson’s waiver claim drew low expectations from many as he came to the Raiders after completely falling off in Washington, getting placed on waivers after just two games despite being a frequent starter in his first two seasons in the nation’s capital. Amerson having one of the worst seasons of all-time at the cornerback position per ProFootballFocus in 2014 before the team decided to give up on him in mid-September, landing him in Oakland with an opportunity to revive his career in a cornerback group that would provide him with the opportunity to play.

So far it appears that Amerson will be making the most of his second chance he was given this season by the Raiders as the former second-round pick has played very capably in increased playing time over the past two weeks. Playing as a starter at cornerback, staying on the field for 77/79 snaps in Week 4 against the Bears in a game where Amerson made a handful of steady plays to earn a PFF grade of +1.1 after filling in for TJ Carrie who moved to the safety position with Amerson now in the fold.

On Sunday against the Broncos, Amerson built on his strong starting performance against the Bears by playing all 100% of the defensive snaps in what was the Raiders best defensive performance of the season. Amerson doing his part to hold Peyton Manning to zero defensive touchdowns in a game where Charles Woodson drew the majority of the headlines for his two interceptions in the 16-10 loss. Still, the production of Amerson was one of the most underrated positives from the game as the Raiders continued to get solid play from a player who they stole off of the waiver wire at one of their weakest positions.

For the time being it appears that Amerson is going to be one of the Raiders starting cornerbacks with Carrie filling in at safety for the injured Nate Allen, giving the former Washington ‘bust’ a chance at redemption in a new setting rather than sitting on a practice squad. A perfect situation for a player also turning into a perfect situation so far for the Raiders, who are enjoying the early returns from Amerson who is bringing some stability to a cornerback group that was completely written off just weeks into the season. Now heading into the bye week the Raiders pass coverage has something to build on after a strong outing against Manning and the discovery of Amerson as a capable starter is a huge part of the turnaround.

More from Just Blog Baby

Home/Las Vegas Raiders News