The Oakland Raiders started cutting some solid veterans on Thursday, and the first domino to drop was tight end Lee Smith.
On the same day that the Raiders inked a deal with their fourth-round pick Foster Moreau, they also released tight end Lee Smith.
This move may catch a lot of people by surprise, but the tight end room is definitely a crowded one. Smith is a veteran, who is one of the better blocking tight ends in the league. He has eight seasons under his belt, with the last four years coming as a member of the Oakland Raiders.
Smith brought that old-school mindset to the locker room and playing field, where he didn’t take a snap off. His ability to block was exceptional, as he’s flattened many players during his time in Oakland.
He’s never been viewed across the league as a threat that will kill an opposing team in the receiving game, although he did have a career-high three touchdowns last season. Down the stretch Smith and Derek Carr appeared to develop a connection inside the red zone as a viable go-to option on the goal line.
This move of cutting Smith appears to be two things, the Raiders wanting to get younger, and giving them more flexibility with cap space. Smith’s cap hit slated at $2.6 million. Whereas, Moreau’s rookie salary is $495,000.
Both players do display similar skill sets as superb blockers in the trenches. It looks as the Raiders decision of cutting Smith was, why have two guys with the same skill set?
With the subtraction of Smith, that’s the first cut from this jam-packed tight end room that now consist of Darren Waller, Derek Carrier, Foster Moreau, Luke Willson, and Paul Butler.
More cuts in this tight end group are likely to happen before the final 53-man roster is complete. That will make for a competitive training camp among the tight end bunch.
Waller appears to be the pass catching tight end of the group, whereas Carrier and Moreau look to be the blocking tight ends going forward.
“What we think we found is a tight end who can put his hand in the dirt and block, number one,” said Mayock after recapping his draft selections on Saturday. “Number two, we think he’s a bit better athletically than most people think, and number three, we think he’s a great complement to Waller.”
Mayock appears to be pretty thrilled about the former LSU tight end with his unique skill set, and this is more than likely the reason Lee Smith was shown the way out. If Moreau can show his athleticism to the Raiders coaching staff more than he displayed in college, he may turn into a receiving option down the road for Carr.