The Las Vegas Raiders have been stuck in quarterback purgatory for so long that the fan base has forgotten what it is like to have a true difference-maker under center. While some players have surprisingly not panned out, the team's issues are largely their own undoing.
Over the last two decades, the Raiders have drafted fewer quarterbacks than almost every other NFL franchise. Not to mention, they haven't taken a young signal-caller in the first round since 2007, and they've only taken four total since then. They did draft Cam Miller in the sixth round this year, however.
Miller came from FCS North Dakota State, where he had a decorated career and followed in the path of other NFL quarterbacks like Carson Wentz and Trey Lance. He had an up-and-down preseason in Las Vegas, but he showed plenty of promise. Miller has spent the entire year on the practice squad.
Raiders rookie quarterback Cam Miller signed to Dolphins' active roster
While many fans might have forgotten about Miller, considering he was a Day 3 selection and hasn't played in a game this season, we wrote earlier this week about why Geno Smith's injury means that Miller should get an opportunity to play in the Week 18 finale against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Well, that won't be happening. On Thursday, Miller's agency, JL Sports, reported that he had been signed from Las Vegas' practice squad to the Miami Dolphins' active roster. The Raiders did not protect Miller from being signed, so the young quarterback was poached by another team.
This news strikes as a bit disappointing. It's not like Miller was likely to ascend into being a franchise quarterback, but to use a sixth-round draft pick on a player and to have him not even finish his rookie season with the organization feels like a wasted selection.
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Tommy Mellott, his counterpart as a sixth-round pick by the Raiders who came from an FCS school, didn't even make it past roster cutdowns. Of the 11 players that John Spytek took in his inaugural draft, two of them are no longer on the roster.
In reality, fans should have known that Las Vegas wasn't super high on Miller after the preseason. When Aidan O'Connell broke his wrist, the team immediately signed veteran Jeff Driskel to the practice squad and traded for Kenny Pickett.
They clearly didn't believe in Miller as a backup. With Smith's injury, they could have easily placed the veteran quarterback on the Injured Reserve and activated Miller for the season finale, but they clearly didn't want to go that route, and now he will play out his rookie contract in Miami.
Obviously, he was a rookie making a big jump from the FCS level, but it would have been nice to see him get seasoned in the building and eventually turn into a solid backup. However, the Raiders will be diving headfirst back into the quarterback wilderness this offseason. Draft two of them, please!