Oakland Raiders release running back Chris Warren III

The Oakland Raiders went into training camp with some questions at running back, but they answered one of them on Day 2, releasing Chris Warren III.

The Oakland Raiders have plenty of position battles to keep an eye on this summer, including one in the backfield. With a bunch of veterans on the roster, and a first round pick leading the way, Oakland was looking to get some clarity of the depth chart behind Josh Jacobs, Doug Martin, and Jalen Richard.

One player who was expected to challenge for the final running back spot was Chris Warren III, who burst onto the scene with a solid preseason in 2018. In fact, he led the NFL in rushing during the preseason in 2018, but landed on the injured list prior to the beginning of the regular season.

With the release of Warren, the Raiders were quick to sign former running back James Butler, who spent time on the team’s practice squad last season.

Jacobs is the kind of do-everything back that Gruden has been lacking in his offense, and Richard proved himself to be one of the better pass-catching running backs in the league last season. In addition, Martin came in and became the starter when Marshawn Lynch went down due to injury, and ran for over 700 yards, while averaging better than four yards per carry.

Now that Warren is gone, it looks like Deandre Washington will get another long look to make the Raiders roster. Washington was seldomly used by Gruden in his first season back on the sidelines, but is a guy who get every opportunity to turn Gruden’s head this summer.

Warren’s weight became an issue, as was the fact that he had issues catching passes out of the backfield. For Warren, he proved during the preseason last year that he is a talented back, and he may get an opportunity to latch on with someone, but his time with the Silver and Black has come to an end.