Las Vegas Raiders: 3 offensive departures that could end up hurting in 2021
By Kenny King
Las Vegas Raiders: 3 offensive departures that could end up hurting in 2021
Rodney Hudson, Center
One area of continuity for the team over the past three years has been the offensive line, which at one point was arguably the best in football. Injuries, age, and financial woes caused the Raiders to downsize their investment on the offensive line and diversify those assets into other areas of need.
In the Raiders’ attempt to recoup some of the money that was flooding the offensive line, the team traded future Hall of Fame center, Rodney Hudson to the Arizona Cardinals for a third-round pick. Hudson had been Derek Carr’s second brain on the football field, as he was highly proficient in identifying defensive packages through his pre-snap reads and communicating with the offensive line to ensure they were on the same page.
It was a blow to lose Hudson, the heart of the offensive line, a perennial team captain and arguably the best center in the league year after year, who astonishingly hadn’t allowed a sack in 42 games. Replacing Hudson is a monumental task that has been handed to Andre James, who was an undrafted rookie in 2019.
James has been taking first-team reps at center and has been working extensively with Carr to get down timing, snap counts, and handoffs to ensure there are zero hiccups as the season begins.