The Las Vegas Raiders kicked off roster cutdown day with a shocking trio of moves, releasing veteranrunning back Dare Ogunbowale, trading interior offensive lineman Jordan Meredith to the New York Jets and waiving promising UDFA defensive end Cian Slone. The latter has a silver lining, though.
It remained a mystery exactly how the Las Vegas front office would handle the roster crunch in the defensive end room, as behind Maxx Crosby, Malcolm Koonce, Kwity Paye and Keyron Crawford, a stiff battle was taking place between Slone and veteran Patrick Johnson. They couldn't keep both.
Crawford getting injured in the finale, though, changed the picture a bit. If he was out for the season, or even placed on short-term IR, then the Raiders would have, in fact, been able to keep both Slone and Johnson. However, Slone being waived is a positive sign for Johnson and Crawford.
Raiders waiving Cian Slone is a vote of confidence for Patrick Johnson
Slone was the highest-paid member of Las Vegas' UDFA class this spring, so it is a bit shocking that he's one of the first cuts reported. Maybe the Raiders' leadership is confident that he'll clear waivers and return to the practice squad, but with two strong preseason outings, that isn't super likely.
A poor showing in the final game of the exhibition slate seems to have done the NC State product in, especially when one factors in how well Johnson had been playing. Despite being added at the 11th hour, the veteran was outright dominant in all three preseason games on defense and special teams.
Many felt that Johnson could just be a flash in the pan as an experienced player going up against a lot of rookies and deep depth pieces, and that it wouldn't mean much for his roster prospects. Others felt that a young, rebuilding team like the Raiders may want a higher-upside player like Slone instead.
The fact that Las Vegas has seemingly kept Johnson, however, means two things: One, the coaching staff is self-assured that Johnson will contribute this season, and two, that special teams really matter to the Silver and Black. Johnson was better than Slone in that realm, so a decision was made.
Keyron Crawford's injury may not be severe if Raiders waived Cian Slone
If Crawford was poised to miss a good portion of time, then the Raiders probably wouldn't have waived Slone so quickly. With Crawford on the injured reserve, there would have been room for both Johnson and Slone to make it, so Slone being waived could mean that Crawford's injury isn't severe.
Now, this is mere speculation. Klint Kubiak didn't have many details about the rookie's ailment, nor did any official report come out about his status. No decisions have been made on this front. It stands to reason, though, that Las Vegas would have waited to waive Slone if Crawford was out for very long.
This could be looked at as good news for Raider Nation, as Crawford is expected to be a rotational pass-rusher as a rookie, and he had his best game of the preseason in the finale against the San Francisco 49ers before leaving with the aforementioned ankle injury.
Las Vegas could always put Crawford on short-term or season-ending IR and then add an edge rusher from outside the building. Really, anything is on the table in this chaotic period. But Slone being waived so soon could be a positive sign for Crawford's health.
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