The Las Vegas Raiders wrapped up their 2021 preseason on Sunday, and here is our final 53-man roster projection before cutdowns.
Sorting through a roster and making the necessary cuts is never an easy thing to do, but seeing players stand out during the preseason makes it a bit easier. Now, the third and final Las Vegas Raiders preseason game is in the books, and the team’s management should have a pretty good idea of what the team is going to look like on opening day against the Baltimore Ravens.
Here is an idea of what the final 53-man roster could look like and why.
Las Vegas Raiders: 2021 53-man roster prediction after preseason finale
Quarterback (3): Derek Carr, Marcus Mariota, Nathan Peterman
Nathan Peterman deserves a little bit more respect, as the guy isn’t a starter, that’s for sure, but he can still play football. During the preseason, Peterman took all but one snap, and he really didn’t look completely awful. Overall, Peterman’s preseason stats were a 68.5% completion percentage, 553 passing yards, two touchdowns, and 80 rushing yards.
The only real downside was the four interceptions that he threw, but compared to his performances in the past, that really isn’t too bad.
The Marcus Mariota situation is somewhat of a win-win for Las Vegas. If they are happy with Peterman as a backup, then they could trade Mariota and get some valuable assets in return. If they want to stick with Mariota, then they’ll have arguably the best backup quarterback in football.
They can even come up with some Taysom Hill-type packages for the mobile QB. Those types of plays could help the team flourish in the red zone, where they struggled mightily last season.
Las Vegas really plans to have neither of these guys plays very much, though. Rather, they hope that Derek Carr can stay healthy for the entirety of the 2021 season. If he can, then there is a really good chance that the Las Vegas offense can be a top ten offense in the league once again.