After teasing a veteran running back addition for over a week, the Las Vegas Raiders finally settled on one just before Thursday's training camp practice began. With the roster spot made available after Wednesday's crop of moves, the Silver and Black are signing Dare Ogunbowale.
Ogunbowale is an experienced 32-year-old who has played for four teams during his nine-year NFL career. He just spent the last four campaigns with the Houston Texans, mainly serving as a special-teamer and a third-down back in the receiving game. Ogunbowale will be a nice veteran figure.
Klint Kubiak made it quite clear last week that nobody will be handed a roster spot, though, so Ogunbowale will have to fight for his position on the 53-man team, like everyone else. But his presence certainly changes the complexion of the Raiders' running back room in a lot of ways.
It at least begs a few questions.
Las Vegas Raiders sign vet RB Dare Ogunbowale to fill open roster spot
Once an afterthought in a crowded Wisconsin Badgers running back room that featured Montee Ball, Melvin Gordon, James White and Corey Clement, Ogunbowale has carved out a nice career for himself at the pro level after latching on as an undrafted free agent following the 2017 NFL Draft.
He failed to stick with the Houston Texans' practice squad after just a few weeks of his rookie year, but he landed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Although he spent just seven days on their practice squad, he crossed paths with now-Raiders general manager John Spytek for the first time.
As fate would have it, after bouncing around for the next year, Ogunbowale landed back in Tampa Bay, but this time, he actually hung around. He spent two seasons with the Bucs, playing in 18 games, almost exclusively as a special-teamer, even serving as a team captain for them in 2019.
Over the next six seasons, Ogunbowale was a rotational back who primarily thrived in the passing game and a premier special teams player for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and more recently, the Texans. In Houston, he was a great locker room presence and leader, and Las Vegas needs more of those.
It should be noted that Ogunbowale hasn't exactly lit it up on offense during his NFL career. He has played 1,836 special teams snaps, which is more than the 1,444 scrimmage yards he has totaled in nine seasons. Ogunbowale has scored seven touchdowns, but he's primarily a third-phase player.
Still, Ogunbowale having the ability to line up inline, in the slot or out wide, in addition to playing both kick and punt coverage and return, should entice Kubiak. It'll be interesting to see how this changes the dynamic in the running back room during the rest of training camp and the preseason.
Dare Ogunbowale signing changes math of Raiders' running back room
Before Ogunbowale's arrival, the Raiders had just four running backs on the roster: Ashton Jeanty, Mike Washington Jr., Dylan Laube and rookie UDFA Roman Hemby. But Kubiak wants his players to compete for spots, and having four players vying for potentially four spots certainly isn't a "battle."
So, Ogunbowale represents a threat to non-established players like Laube and Hemby. Jeanty and Washington Jr. are roster locks, but Laube will have to continue his strong offseason showings if he wants to stick around on this Raiders roster. He and Ogunbowale are a lot alike.
Both are primarily special teams players, but where they contribute on offense is as a third-down receiving back. Oftentimes, two such players cannot co-exist in an NFL running back room because the team wants players with different styles who won't have redundant roles.
But as we noted in our latest 53-man roster projection, the room could still be comprised of Jeanty, Washington Jr, Laube and Ogunbowale. With Jeanty expected to be a workhorse, and Washington Jr. poised to spell him, the Raiders don't need much help at running back.
Filling out the bottom of the roster can often be about finding the best special teamers. That is what has given Laube the edge over Hemby this whole time, and Ogunbowale is in the same boat. So, ultimately, this signing could push Hemby to the waiver wire at final roster cutdowns.
No matter how it shakes out, the Silver and Black aren't keeping all five backs. Someone has to go or be waived at the end of this month and potentially snuck back onto the practice squad. Maybe that's Ogunbowale. But regardless, the math is now very different in Las Vegas at running back.
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