Apparently the 53-man roster wasn't set after all?
On Wednesday morning, Ian Rapoport reported that the Raiders have decided to cut defensive tackle Byron Young, who initially made the 53-man roster when it was announced earlier this week.
A surprise: The #Raiders are cutting DT Byron Young, their third-round pick from last year, source said. The Bama product was on the initial 53-man roster. Now, out.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 28, 2024
The Raiders' defensive line is one of the stronger positions on the team, but the decision to move on from Young after literally one season is notable enough on its own. Not only does it have consequences for how their front seven will look this season, but it sends a message to every other player on the roster. (You're safe, Davante Adams.)
Raiders' decision to release Byron Young says a lot about Antonio Pierce and Tom Telesco
On paper, it's not entirely surprising that Young wasn't in the Raiders' plans. If you strip away the fact that he was a third round pick, Young's produciton doesn't exactly scream roster lock: he only appeared in six games last year, didn't start any of them, and finished with four (4) total tackles. Pro Football Focus gave him a sub-50 overall rating (that's bad) and credited him with one single QB hurry all season. Especially as the team tries to figure out how to put together a functional run defense, Young just didn't really have a role on the defense.
Perhaps more importantly, however, is the message it sends to other young guys who would normally have some high draft pick job protection. So Tyree Wilson, basically. Antonio Pierce and Tom Telesco clearly aren't afraid of cutting bait, and if Wilson doesn't start contributing in a meaningful way, being a former Top-10 pick isn't going to mean much to anyone for very long. There were plenty of productive reps from guys below him on the depth chart during the preseason, and neither Pierce nor Telesco was employed by the Raiders when they decided to draft him.
It's not a perfect apples-for-apples comparison, but if the Raiders are in the business of releasing recent draft picks based solely on production, today's got to be a sobering day for Wilson.