The Las Vegas Raiders decided to go with a youth movement at safety in 2021, cutting Karl Joseph, and keeping Roderic Teamer and Tyree Gillespie.
When cuts were announced on Tuesday, one big name that was waived was safety Karl Joseph, who is a former first-round pick of the Raiders franchise. Joseph came to the Raiders after one season with the Cleveland Browns, and the thought all preseason was that he would provide depth behind young starters Johnathan Abram and Tre’Von Moehrig.
Instead, Joseph is now looking for a job, as the Raiders decided to go with a youth movement at the safety positions. Deciding to keep four safeties, Las Vegas will roll with two 2021 draft picks in Moehrig and Tyree Gillespie, while also keeping Roderic Teamer, a 24-year old, and Abram, entering his third season.
Joseph and Dallin Leavitt were both waived, clearing room for Teamer, who was a bit of a shocking addition for the Raiders. The truth is, Teamer has worked with Gus Bradley in the past, and he was someone who came in and brought a lot of intensity this summer.
Raiders banking on growth in the secondary
The Raiders were atrocious in the secondary last season, as Abram struggled, as well as 2020 first-round pick Damon Arnette at cornerback. That led to the team bringing in a bunch of new faces at both cornerback and safety, and the unit as a whole has looked more athletic, and definitely deeper throughout the offseason, and preseason slate.
If Abram can look like the player he looked like as a rookie before the injury, and Moehrig is the real deal, they are set at the two starting spots for the foreseeable future. Also this summer, Gillespie has looked like a monster in the box, and Teamer should be an excellent addition on the special teams as well.
Las Vegas Raiders release initial 2021 53-man roster ahead of Week 1
The Las Vegas Raiders released their initial 53-man roster on Tuesday, and will now turn to finalize the group that will play Baltimore in Week 1.
The additions of both Gus Bradley as defensive coordinator, and Ron Milus as the defensive backs coach have certainly looked like the right choices this summer, and the hope is that can translate into the regular season. Las Vegas decided to roll the dice a bit at the safety position, and when all is said and done, they will be better because of it.