Oakland Raiders 2019 53-man roster: Quarterback

Reserves: Mike Glennon, Deshone Kizer

The backups the Raiders have employed at quarterback are about as confusing at it gets. During the preseason, Mike Glennon and Nathan Peterman saw plenty of action, but neither proved they can ride the ship if needed during the regular season.

For Glennon, he’ll be the primary backup and rightfully so as he is easily the better passer of the two options. Glennon finished the preseason with 491 yards while completing 67% of his passes with 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Glennon certainly had some positive moments during the preseason, but he remains a very vanilla quarterback that lacks mobility. Maybe that is what Gruden wants, but it just seems like we know exactly what Glennon is from his previous stops and it isn’t very promising.

The assumption was that either Glennon or Peterman would win a battle for the backup spot and whoever lost was a likely candidate to get cut. When the initial 53-man roster came out, both Glennon and Peterman were on it, but things have changed since then.

On Monday, the Raiders placed Peterman on IR, stashing him while Gruden continues to try to develop him as an NFL quarterback. Peterman’s reputation from his time with the Buffalo Bills has been well documented, but Gruden has always been intrigued by him.

Peterman is a project that Gruden is not ready to give up on at the moment, but question marks remain with the QB. The ability to extend plays and pick up yards with his feet gives the Raiders a dynamic they’d never get from Glennon, but it is hard to overlook his issues as a thrower.

Starting with his accuracy to deep and intermediate parts of the field. Peterman only averaged 5.7 yards per attempt during the preseason compared to Glennon’s 8.0. At this point, Gruden must see something no one else does in Peterman or is letting his preconceived notions of the QB cloud what is evident to most.

Speaking of preconceived notions, the Raiders made an even stranger move this weekend by claiming Deshone Kizer off waivers. Kizer was a former second-round pick back in 2017, but after a miserable start in Cleveland was traded to Green Bay this past offseason. Now after being cut by the Packers, this could be a hail mary attempt on a guy who Mike Mayock was at one point high on early in the 2017 draft.