3 biggest surprises from Raiders roster cut day

At long last, the Raiders have made it through the preseason. OTAs, minicamp, and training camp in Costa Mesa are all in the rearview mirror as the team sets its sights on the regular season, beginning with their Week 1 divisional bout against the Chargers.

Unfortunately for nearly half of the players on Las Vegas’ roster, this meant the end of the road for them in the Silver and Black this season. Some of them could be back on the practice squad, but many of them will never wear a Raiders uniform again and could be done with their careers entirely.

The art of constructing an NFL roster is not in keeping your 53 best players, but in keeping the best 53 players you can consider the extensive parameters like salary cap, positional allocation and a good blend of youth and experience. 

Keeping in mind how delicate and tumultuous these decisions and this time of year are, let’s look at some of the biggest surprises from Tom Telesco and Antonio Pierce’s first 53-man roster as a tandem.

7 Linebackers, 3 Tight Ends

Antonio Pierce is a former linebacker, so this makes sense in a way. But this disparity in numbers is well outside of the bell curve compared to other NFL teams.

The team chose to keep seven linebackers: Robert Spillane, Divine Deablo, Luke Masterson, Tommy Eichenberg, Amari Burney, Kana’i Mauga, and Amari Gainer.

Part of the shock in this decision is that defensive coordinator Patrick Graham is known to only keep two linebackers on the field at a time. That means that keeping this many linebackers could be a response to the team’s focus on special teams, as linebackers are typically considered the best tacklers on a team. With more linebackers playing on special teams, the Raiders are less likely to give up big returns.

More than likely though, this extreme number will drop in the next few days as the roster continues to take shape. Eichenberg and Burney were both dealing with injuries towards the end of camp and could end up on the short-term IR. Even if they do not, as players at other positions become available via trade, the waiver wire, or free agency, one of these players could be cut or demoted to the practice squad to make space.

I cannot say enough that Luke Getsy loves his tight ends. That is why the Raiders only keeping three is baffling to me. 

It’s no secret that Bowers and Mayer are going to eat up most of the reps, but only having one reserve tight end feels a bit careless considering how much Getsy relies on 12 personnel, meaning two tight ends are on the field at the same time.

Maybe Cole Fotheringham or Zach Gentry find their way back on the team in some capacity, but fans should be happy for now at least that the Bowers foot injury is not severe enough to warrant a panic for more depth at the position. 

Who were the surprise cuts?

There were a few players that hit the waiver wire or free agency that many Raider fans expected to hang around for a bit longer. Among these players were Sam Webb, Charles Snowden, and Kristian Wilkerson.

Webb played incredibly well in the final preseason game against the 49ers and was a familiar name to the Nation, but he was beat out by the veteran Brandon Facyson and the two members of the rookie class, Decamerion Richardson and MJ Devonshire. Richardson was a lock to make the roster but many thought Facyson’s injury would keep him off the initial roster. Devonshire was also a seventh-round pick, which makes him far from a guarantee, but the team went another direction. Hopefully, he clears waivers and returns to Las Vegas. 

Snowden balled out this preseason but the team went thin at the defensive end position, only keeping four players. Janarius Robinson was incredible this preseason as well, but the team opted to keep former seventh-overall pick Tyree Wilson instead of Snowden despite his lack of preseason production. It was an uphill battle for him to make the squad anyway, but his performance indicated that he should be on an NFL active roster come opening day. Let’s just hope it’s not someone else’s, and he returns to Vegas in some capacity. 

Wilkerson is a bit surprising, but not entirely. The receivers at the end of the depth chart were never going to factor into the offense much, so it came down to special teams. Tyreik McAllister was too electric to ignore in the preseason finale, and Ramel Keyton is a bigger body who did more in the coverage games. That being said, Wilkerson was on the initial 53-man roster at this time last season, and due to familiarity, many figured he would be the fifth receiver on the team. Instead, the team kept six at the position and he was the odd man out.

Who snuck onto the roster?

While a few players were surely upset about narrowly missing the roster, a few players unexpectedly found their way onto the initial 53-man. Among these players were Ramel Keyton, Kana’i Mauga, and Byron Young.

Keyton was a force in the final preseason game against the 49ers, hauling in four catches for 76 yards, including a highlight grab on the game-tying drive. He did struggle with drops at times during camp and OTAs, but his big frame and athletic upside were enough for the Raiders to take a chance on him at the end of their roster. I figured he would land back on the team’s practice squad, but after his final performance in the preseason, he might not have cleared waivers, and the Raiders did not want to lose him.

Mauga is a key piece on special teams, as he showed at points last season, so he found his way into a crowded linebacker room. I don’t see him lasting on the active roster very long, but for now, he is one of 53. 

Young did not really earn his way onto the team, but he is on there for now. His effort in the preseason was abysmal at times, and his production is not strong enough to make up for his lack of drive. Pierce and the staff see something in him though, so he sticks around for right now, but he is going to have to show a lot more promise if the franchise is going to keep him around. Raider fans will have little patience for laziness.