The Oakland Raiders need help in the secondary after losing Karl Joseph on Thursday night, and they have been working out players to fill that void.
The Oakland Raiders have been hit with multiple injuries to their secondary in recent weeks. With safety Karl Joseph landing on injured reserve, and the status of Lamarcus Joyner unknown, the Raiders brought in a new face to workout for the time being.
On Saturday the Raiders officially placed Karl Joseph on season-ending injured reserve, while adding D.J. Swearinger to the active roster. Despite the Raiders making a corresponding move with Joseph landing on IR, they’re also unsure of how serious Lamarcus Joyner‘s pulled hamstring is.
To deal with the loss of Joseph, the Raiders are taking every measure to add talent to the secondary, and that continued on Monday. Oakland’s defense has it’s share of holes right now, especially in the defensive backfield, so adding talent makes a ton of sense at this point.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Raiders are hosting defensive back Deshawn Shead for a Monday workout.
The #Raiders continue to search for help in the defensive backfield, as they are working out former #Lions and #Seahawks DB Deshawn Shead today, source said.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 11, 2019
Shead has not played in an NFL game this season but has worked out for the Seattle Seahawks and the Detroit Lions earlier this year.
He hasn’t been a full-time starter in the league since he broke his leg with the Seattle Seahawks in 2016 where he recorded one interception, one forced fumble, 14 PBU’s and 80 tackles.
His most recent stint was 2018 with the Lions where he saw action in 12 games but only started in one of them. He totaled 18 tackles and one forced fumble last season, before becoming a current free-agent.
Oakland has lost some important pieces with the two recent injuries to Joseph and Joyner, but they’ve also been without first-round safety Jonathan Abram since week two and have traded the struggling Gareon Conley to Houston in exchange for a third-round pick.
Oakland still needs some continuity on defense as they’re still looking for ways to shape its unit after losing additional starters. If Shead is brought in-house expect him to see some time at nickel corner to help keep the banged up secondary above float.
In addition to Shead, the Raiders also worked out former Cleveland Browns safety Jermaine Whitehead, who started eight games for Cleveland before being released after a Twitter rant after the team’s loss to Denver. Whitehead is a talented safety, and the Raiders have taken chances on players with issues in the past.