Predicting Raiders 53-man roster entering training camp
By Brad Weiss
The 2018 Oakland Raiders training camp will kick off today, so it is as good a time as any to take a look at a projected 53-man roster for Week 1.
Training camp for the Oakland Raiders will officially kick off today, as the team has arrived in Napa. One noticeable player missing from the group is defensive end Khalil Mack, who appears to be holding out for a new contract. While he will be missed until he returns, the players fighting for roster spots cannot worry about that right now.
In this piece, we take a look at what the 53-man roster could look like when the Raiders take on the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1 of the 2018 NFL regular season. There are so many position battles to watch this summer, and while the roster could look very different than our initial projection, it will certainly be fun to watch it take shape over the next month and a half.
Special Teams (3): K Eddy Pineiro, P Johnny Townsend, LS Andrew DePaola
One of the bigger position battles for the Raiders during the 2018 training camp will actually be for the starting kicker job. Giorgio Tavecchio took over for the injured Sebastian Janikowski before Week 1 last season, and held onto the position the rest of the way.
If he hopes to be the kicker in 2018, he will have to beat out rookie Eddy Pineiro, who was signed as an undrafted free agent shortly after the 2018 NFL Draft. Pineiro was a college teammate of punter Johnny Townsend at the University of Florida, and has a nice rapport with him based on their time with the Gators.
Townsend will be replacing Marquette King, who was released by the team this offseason. At long snapper, Andrew DePaola will replace veteran Jon Condo, who was the longest tenured Raider on the roster last season. With a new special teams coach in place, this unit should be solid in 2018.