Oakland Raiders: 5 players who helped themselves after Cardinals game
By John Buhler
28. . Linebacker. Tennessee Volunteers. LaTroy Lewis. 2. player
The Raiders’ pass rush in the second half is largely what kept Oakland in this game it had no business being in. Hester was great on the defensive interior, but hats off to undrafted rookie linebacker LaTroy Lewis out of Tennessee. He was terrific in his first bit of preseason action for the Silver and Black.
Lewis inked a three-year deal out of mini camp with the Raiders. For a guy that didn’t get picked by any of the 32 teams in the seven-round draft this past spring, what was he missing? Lewis went on a tear in the pass rush for the Raiders. He was getting after Gabbert all the time in the second half.
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Lewis had four tackles, all solo, two for a loss of yardage, two quarterback hits and two quarterback sacks. He and Hester had a knack for playing off each other in being able to provide pressure. Sure, this was against a lackluster offensive line on a Cardinals team that isn’t exactly stout up front to begin with.
However, no division rival in the AFC West has a brick wall of an offensive line for the Raiders to go up against. Kansas City’s is good, but not great. Denver’s is a mess and Los Angeles’ is an unhealthy wet paper bag. It seems that general manager Reggie McKenzie made a good find in hand selecting this UDFA out of his alma mater in Knoxville.