The Las Vegas Raiders brought in a franchise-record 11-member rookie class in last April's draft. Not all of them were expected to contribute right away, but fans figured that many of them would get an early shot in what most considered a rebuilding season for the Silver and Black.
But despite John Spytek's efforts to infuse youth and raw talent into the building, head coach Pete Carroll has remained steadfast in his belief that winning now is the only thing that matters. That means that he has largely cast the rookie class aside in favor of veterans who aren't winning anyway.
At the very least, Raider Nation has been clamoring for the young players to be the first to fill in for injured starters, or to at least rotate them in for even limited or garbage-time reps just to get their feet wet. But these pleas have fallen on deaf ears when it came to the veteran coach.
Pete Carroll finally rotated Raiders' young players in Week 13 vs. Chargers
Until Week 13. With the interior offensive line battered by ailments and down two starters, Carroll finally gave rookie third-rounder Caleb Rogers a chance to start and play meaningful downs. Of course, he still got outsnapped by practice squad guard Atonio Mafi, but it was a start.
Carroll and the coaching staff, with Jordan Meredith out, opted to essentially alternate every few drives between Rogers and Mafi. Rogers started five drives to Mafi's four, but he ended up playing just 17 snaps to Mafi's 31. Carroll spoke about the choice to rotate them after the game.
"Because that's about where it came out competing-wise in practice, and (we) know that they both deserve to have a shot," Carroll said. "So, we want to get them on film and see what we can find out. Really anxious to see what that looks like, get back to it."
Rookie third-round cornerback Darien Porter has also been snubbed from the starting lineup and significant playing time this season in favor of former Seattle Seahawk Kyu Blu Kelly. Porter did get to play more on Sunday, however, playing 33 snaps while Kelly played 34.
Carroll touched on that battle as well in Monday's press conference.
"Darien played really well, also, and so those guys are doing okay. Early in the year, Kyu, they got after him a little bit. They got some shots at him, and he just had to bounce back from that and play his way through it, which he's done," Carroll said. "So, we rotate those guys, too, because they both deserve to play."
Finally, Carroll is getting it. They both deserve to play. It was senseless for Kelly to play every single snap with him struggling so much, and it was also crazy to make Porter instantly play every snap of a game after barely playing the week prior. They needed balance, and they finally got it.
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With the season already lost, it is a good thing that Carroll is seemingly giving some of the younger players a larger shot at an expanded role. His insistence on instilling competition in the building has felt a bit phony or hollow in the past, but perhaps it is finally manifesting in a way that fans appreciate.
Going forward, it seems like Carroll is committed to almost treating these games like they are preseason contests, effectively serving as a tryout for next season. He talked on Monday about continuing this sort of approach in the future.
"We let them fight for their job, and it's a good battle going on, and we'll continue that this week," Carroll said.
When asked about the possibility of one player eventually beating the other out for all of the reps, Carroll was non-committal.
"I don't know about that. We'll find out. I like that they both got chances to work, and they both did some good things, and they held up," Carroll said. "So, I don't need to call that yet. We'll see what happens."
Obviously, no personnel changes are going to salvage this season, as the Raiders are already eliminated from playoff contention. They are also so far from being a competitive team in most games anyway that minor tweaks to the lineup are futile.
But Carroll could easily buy some time with owner Mark Davis and save his job if he shows a willingness to start preparing for the future. Fans have begged all season for Carroll to play the Raiders' young players, and finally, he caved in Week 13. Let's hope it continues.