The Las Vegas Raiders struggled on both sides of the ball in their inaugural game under head coach Pete Carroll. Las Vegas was able to salvage a tie against the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday, but the game left plenty to be desired and addressed over the following week.
On offense, the team particularly struggled with blocking. The second unit was unable to pave any lanes for the rushing attack or keep defenders out of the backfield when O'Connell dropped back to pass.
Carroll and general manager John Spytek have already turned over a portion of the Raiders' roster, and Carroll's history indicates that he will make plenty of transactions in his first year at the helm. This means a Raiders veteran could be gone quite soon, and may not even make it through the weekend.
Thayer Munford Jr. struggled in Raiders' first preseason game
Thayer Munford Jr. struggled against the Seahawks' backup defensive line on Thursday night. He played both left and right tackle, leading the Raiders with 51 snaps played in the contest. In this large sample size, his 36.6 Pro Football Focus grade was the second-lowest on the team.
This was a disappointing outing for Munford, who has some starting experience under his belt and should fare just fine against second- and third-stringers. However, his 48.9 grade in run-blocking and 23.1 grade as a pass-blocker depict a player who has gotten worse this offseason.
It is important to realize that Munford was just a seventh-round pick, so parting ways with him would not hurt the franchise in any way, financially speaking. He is also entering the final year of his rookie contract, so perhaps the new regime will let him play it out before inevitably not re-signing him.
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However, Munford was not even drafted by the Tom Telesco and Antonio Pierce regime in Las Vegas. He was selected by Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler in their first year at the helm, which already feels like a distant memory to Raider Nation.
Parting ways with Munford would leave the team relatively thin at offensive tackle, considering rookie Charles Grant did not look too stellar in his debut either. However, there are a handful of solid veterans on the market, and Carroll and Spytek have no real allegiance to Munford at this point.
He'll likely make it through the preseason, and he could even make the 53-man roster. However, it feels like Munford's career in Las Vegas has been a bit underwhelming or disappointing, so perhaps a change of scenery would be best for both parties, because Munford is not devoid of talent.