A negative hallmark of the Las Vegas Raiders' first three games this season has been the play of the offensive line. Running back Ashton Jeanty can't find room to run, to put it mildly, and quarterback Geno Smith is not being protected adequately on a regular basis.
The current configuration of the interior line, with Dylan Parham at left guard, Jordan Meredith at center and Alex Cappa at right guard, is very questionable, and offensive line coach/run game coordinator Brennan Carroll, head coach Pete Carroll's son, is under fire.
In two starts, Cappa has been exactly what everyone expected, which is below-average. His overall Pro Football Focus grade of 50.4, a pass-blocking grade of 51.4 and a 48.5 run-blocking grade leave plenty to be desired.
Jackson Powers-Johnson seemed lined up to settle in as the Raiders' center for his second NFL season, and until further notice. But that plan shifted to him being the starter at right guard, then a concussion sidelined him for Week 2.
Raiders are wildly mishandling Jackson Powers-Johnson situation
Powers-Johnson cleared concussion protocol and was available for Week 3 against the Washington Commanders. But he did not take his starting job back, playing just two special teams snaps. Head coach Pete Carroll was asked about this decision, and his answer was rather ridiculous.
"Just that it was a short week, and he just got back. Give Alex a chance to go again and see how that goes," Carroll said. "[Powers-Johnson] was available to play. We just decided, for the continuity of coming out of last week, that we might be a little bit smoother. We didn't hit any of the days this week, so we just felt like this was a better choice to go that way. The competition goes on."
Cappa getting another start at right guard because it was a short week, after Powers-Johnson was out in Week 2, doesn't make sense. There is definitely something to be said for continuity on the offensive line, but that was not previously a factor when it came to moving pieces around this offseason. So why is continuity all of a sudden so important?
On Wednesday, Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal asked Carroll during a press conference about the offensive line and if he would consider going with Powers-Johnson at center, Parham back at right guard and Meredith at left guard, where they all thrived last year.
"Absolutely not," Carroll said. "We've invested a lot of time with these guys, playing in their spots. I know you're interested in [Jackson Powers-Johnson]. This is an official week to practice and get ready. Last week was not that. He's ready to compete for playing time, and he and Alex (Cappa) will be going at it."
Bonsignore pressed the idea about competing for playing time with a follow-up question about what that exactly means. Carroll noted that Powers-Johnson hasn't hit anybody for two weeks due to his injury, and he would need to see how he does.
Carroll, and the Raiders' offensive line coach, who happens to be his son, have not been impressed with Powers-Johnson for some reason. No one was going to be handed anything by the new regime, but there seems to be more to this situation than that.
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On the Vegas Nation First and 10 podcast, Bonsignore revealed that he talked to Powers-Johnson later on Wednesday and got the other side of the story.
“I did talk to Jackson Powers-Johnson, got a chance to talk to Jackson today. He hasn’t gotten any feedback on why he’s in the situation that he’s in," Bonsignore said. "We all know that he’s been, I guess, singled out from center, compete for the center job. ... That’s not happening at left tackle. That’s not happening at left guard. It’s not happening at right tackle. It’s basically Jackson Powers-Johnson who’s been identified as somebody that needs to keep fighting for his job and fighting for playing time. He has not gotten any feedback from his words to me about why that is, and all he could do is keep putting his best foot forward. He’s open to playing guard, center, defensive line. … I would not say that he was happy about it. I could tell. I’ve been doing this a long time.”
Powers-Johnson should not have lost his starting job anyway, but especially not purely due to injury. With Cappa's poor performances in mind, it should be a no-brainer to reinsert Powers-Johnson into the starting lineup now that he is healthy.
Carroll clearly didn't love being asked about Powers-Johnson. That points to an obvious endgame for the franchise if he's not an option at center, and if he's going to be left to compete with the clearly inferior Cappa at right guard.
On that note, it's hard to put it better than Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report did recently.
"Powers-Johnson won the Remington Trophy in 2023 and has done nothing to suggest he can't be a quality starting center in the NFL," Knox wrote. "If the Raiders disagree, they should send him to a team with a need at center."
The lack of enough starting-caliber offensive linemen around the league means there would be a solid trade market for Powers-Johnson. But in the fashion of past Raiders' regimes, his trade value is actively being diminished by the suggestion that he's not a better player than Cappa, even though he is.
Raider Nation is hoping that this day never comes, as the fan base is strongly invested in Powers-Johnson as a player and a lifelong fan of the Silver and Black. But this is the ugly business side of the NFL at its worst, and the endgame here is becoming increasingly clear.