The Oakland Raiders have a ton of characters on their roster in 2019, and one news outlet feels they are one of the more “combustible” rosters in the NFL.
The Oakland Raiders made wholesale changes to their roster this offseason, and rightfully so after finishing the 2018 campaign with a 4-12 record. The issue with that is that with change, comes brand new faces, and one news outlet feels that the result could be highly toxic.
Connor Orr of SI’s Monday Morning Quarterback discussed five teams he deems the most combustible heading into the 2019 NFL season. Within the list, Orr speaks about the New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, and Cleveland Browns outside of the Raiders, who have added their fair share of characters this offseason.
There is no big secret that Vontaze Burfict and Antonio Brown did not like each other during their time in the AFC North, though they seemed to have smoothed things out this summer. In addition, the Raiders added Richie Incognito late in the free agency process, and he brings with him his own can of worms.
When you add to all of this that the Raiders preseason will be featured on national television, you have the ingredients for what could be a messy summer. Of course, this is all hearsay, and based on how hard this team has been working this offseason, the pieces have certainly fit the puzzle so far.
There is talent on this roster, and if they can gel, they could be a surprise team in a very open AFC this season. Of course, they have a tough schedule, and are playing their last season in Oakland, which should make this a very emotional season as well.
There is no doubt that this is a Raiders team with players who have had their fair share of issues in the past, but it has been smooth sailing so far. This summer will prove to be quite interesting, and under the bright lights of HBO’s Hard Knocks, we will have a front row seat to all of the action starting in August.