The Las Vegas Raiders were dealt a bit of tough injury news after Week 14 of the 2025 NFL season. During their AFC West matchup with the Denver Broncos, cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly went down with an injury, and it was announced that he tore his patellar tendon and will be out for the rest of the year.
Although the season is all but officially over for the Raiders, and Kelly has endured an up-and-down campaign, this is still an incredibly tough break for the young player. Now, rookie Darien Porter, who has been a bright spot, should take the reins as the full-time starter opposite Eric Stokes.
With no other outside cornerbacks on the roster, this has also opened the window for second-year player Decamerion Richardson, who has yet to play a defensive snap in 2025. But the Raiders were expected to still make another depth addition at cornerback, and they did just that.
Raiders place Kyu Blu Kelly on IR, sign Chigozie Anusiem to active roster
On Tuesday afternoon, Las Vegas officially announced that it was placing Kelly on the Injured Reserve list, ending his season. With the open roster spot, the Raiders are signing cornerback Chigozie Anusiem from the Arizona Cardinals' practice squad.
Anusiem played collegiately at California and Colorado State before going undrafted in 2024. After spending the first portion of his rookie year on the Washington Commanders' practice squad, the Cleveland Browns signed him to their active roster in early November of that year.
After finishing out the 2024 campaign in Cleveland, Anusiem failed to make the 53-man team for the Browns this offseason, and he signed with the Cardinals' practice squad. He had been in Arizona all year, but did not play in a game. His lone NFL appearance came in Week 18 last year for the Browns.
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Although he is not a well-known name, Anusiem is a prototypical Pete Carroll cornerback. He has a big frame at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, has 4.39-second 40-yard dash speed, and a vertical jump of 37.5 inches. He is highly athletic and could be a nice project for Carroll to take on.
Fans may be wondering why the Raiders did not promote from within and promote a player from their own practice squad. The simple answer to that question is that Las Vegas had no cornerbacks on their practice squad after elevating Greedy Vance Jr. last week.
Richardson is sure to be the primary backup for both Stokes and Porter in Week 15 against the Philadelphia Eagles, and likely for the rest of the season. But Anusiem could try to make his mark on special teams and show out in garbage time, as fans know there should be a lot of that coming up.