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Oakland Raiders have talented pieces on practice squad

By Brad Weiss

OAKLAND, CA - AUGUST 24: Lenzy Pipkins #41 of the Green Bay Packers breaks up the pass to Marcell Ateman #88 of the Oakland Raiders in the endzone but gets called for pass interference on the play during the fourth quarter of an NFL preseason football game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on August 24, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - AUGUST 24: Lenzy Pipkins #41 of the Green Bay Packers breaks up the pass to Marcell Ateman #88 of the Oakland Raiders in the endzone but gets called for pass interference on the play during the fourth quarter of an NFL preseason football game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on August 24, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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The Oakland Raiders have a strong 53-man roster heading into Week 1, and their practice squad also has some talent that could help them in 2019.

The Oakland Raiders were on full display this summer, as the team was featured on HBO Hard Knocks. Throughout the process, Raider Nation got to see some great young talent, some of which appeared to be locks to make the team’s initial 53-man roster.

However, as the cuts came down on Friday and Saturday, some of the big name stars from the show were shown the door. For some of them, they made it back to the Silver and Black on Sunday and Monday, signing on to be on the team’s practice squad for the 2019 season.

Currently, the Raiders have their full 10-man roster, and it includes their seventh round picks from 2018 and 2019 in Marcell Ateman and Quinton Bell. In addition, some of the key undrafted rookies from this summer came back, and could play a role on this team in the coming weeks.

Paul Gutierrez from ESPN tweeted out the full 10-man roster on Monday.

"The Raiders have announced their 10-man practice squad, seven of whom were with the team in training camp: WR Marcell Ateman, DE Quinton Bell, G Lester Cotton, Sr., RB Damarea Crockett, WR Rico Gafford, CB Dylan Mabin, CB Nick Nelson, LB Justin Phillips, DT Anthony Rush, TE Eric Saubert."

Rico Gafford has been stellar this summer, and he joins Ateman at the wide receiver position. Lester Cotton Sr. was an absolute mauler for the Alabama Crimson Tide last season, but is still pretty raw, and a year on the practice squad should do wonders for him. Running back Damarea Crockett and tight end Eric Saubert round out the offensive players.

On defense, Anthony Rush came back to the Raiders, after starring for the team as an undrafted rookie this summer. 2018 fourth rounder Nick Nelson, who was burned a ton in games this preseason, will also return, and with more practice, he could end up being a serviceable cornerback at the NFL level.

Linebacker Justin Phillips, cornerback Dylan Mabin, and Bell round out the defensive players on the 10-man roster.

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One big exclusion off the practice squad is wide receiver Keelan Doss, who decided to sign on with the Jacksonville Jaguars instead. Doss had a stellar preseason for the Raiders, but the Jaguars will give him more of an opportunity to make an impact at the NFL level this season, as there is a logjam at the position in Oakland.

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