The Las Vegas Raiders recently saw Denzelle Good retire from football, leaving a gaping hole along their offensive line. Is Lester Cotton Sr. ready to fill it?
The Las Vegas Raiders were dealt a disappointing hand when Denzelle Good was placed on the reserve/retired list. While fans surely wish him well, this only serves to further cloud the right side of the offensive line. But is it as cloudy as it appears? Hardly. In fact, Lester Cotton Sr. now has a golden opportunity.
As of right now, no major free agent signings have taken place. So, this means that the Raiders have Cotton, Thayer Munford, Alex Bars, and possibly Alex Leatherwood as viable options. However, if the team plans on starting Leatherwood back at right tackle, this further shortens the list. Bars has experience at right guard, so there’s that. Munford is still too raw to be relied on for any significant playing time. By process of elimination, Cotton is the de facto starter.
With camp underway, one of Cotton’s teammates, Brandon Parker, had some positive things to say. It bodes well for Cotton that his fellow linemen are seeing him take strides.
"“From day one he stepped in, he’s always kind of had that want to, that dog about him. He kind of had to shape up a little bit. He was much bigger when he came in, but he’s kind of dedicated himself again. He won the award with us, the Sampson Award, for being a dog in the weight room. And we expect the same mentality from him on the field, and he’s been stepping in right away.”"
With only five games under his belt, Cotton doesn’t have tons of experience, but the fact he’s managed to stay with the Raiders in some capacity since 2019 has to say something. If nothing else, Cotton is committed, tenacious, and refuses to quit, simply biding his time to get a real shot at becoming a regular contributor.
Sometimes it takes someone retiring to open things up for an up-and-comer. Reviews from teammates aside, people with boots on the ground are also reporting that Cotton has the best chance to start.
Parker isn’t the only one that sees Cotton as the frontrunner right now in camp. The Athletic’s Tashan Reed recently noted that “Cotton has taken the vast majority of the snaps at right guard since OTAs. The Raiders re-signed Jordan Meredith after Good retired, but he won’t make the final roster. With Good out of the picture, Cotton is the clear favorite to win the job going into the season.”
If there’s one thing that Josh McDaniels has stressed this offseason, it’s competition. Right now, most of the offensive line is an open tryout.
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Other than Kolton Miller, Andre James, and maybe John Simpson at left guard, the right side is up for grabs. Long gone are the days of Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock. Perhaps this new training camp approach will finally lead to someone like Cotton catching a break.