Rooted in familiarity with Klint Kubiak, the Las Vegas Raiders quickly signed veteran guard Spencer Burford after the first wave of free agency in March. Burford also quickly seized the starting job at left guard early in OTAs, with no serious subsequent challenge from anyone during training camp.
Unlike his predecessor and his staff, Kubiak and his assistants seemingly won't be afraid to change something that isn't working. In the last two games, Ashton Jeanty has averaged 2.6 yards per carry. Kirk Cousins has also been sacked five times in that span, with pressures and hurries abundant.
A big piece of that erosion in offensive line play is due to a natural uptick in the quality of defensive lines from the Miami Dolphins in Week 1 to the Los Angeles Chargers and the New Orleans Saints in the last two weeks.
While some guys have played better than others, everything shouldn't necessarily be pinned on one man. That said, the tape doesn't lie, and one spot on the Raiders' offensive line could be moving toward a change: left guard. Burford's job should not be considered safe.
Spencer Burford's status as the Raiders' starting LG should be in question
Pro Football Focus grades are ripe for criticism, but it's rare you see as low a mark as Burford posted in Week 3 against the Saints. Allowing six pressures and five hurries on 44 pass-blocking snaps led to him earning a 4.0 pass-blocking grade.
Yes, a 4.0.
That would be an excellent GPA for a student. But as a measure of how a football player performed, it was basically as if Burford wasn't there in pass protection vs. New Orleans. Burford also hasn't been very good as a run blocker, with the 55th-best PFF grade out of 70 qualifying guards through Week 3.
To his credit, Burford did spring Mike Washington Jr. for his big run against the Saints. But that's about the only positive or game-altering contribution, in a positive way, that he has made through the first few weeks of the 2026 NFL season.
The easy answer to replace Burford, if a change at left guard is to be considered, seems to be second-year man Caleb Rogers, who saw some action at the position during his final season at Texas Tech. Rogers started six games at right guard for the Raiders as a rookie, though.
And he competed with Jackson Powers-Johnson for the starting spot there during training camp as well. With Powers-Johnson suffering a groing injury late in the win over the Saints, and his status for Week 4 (or beyond) uncertain, Rogers would clearly be in line to start in his place.
If Rogers has to step in at right guard for Powers-Johnson for one or more games, Burford would be handed more time to get on track. Rogers going in and playing well, though, could expose Burford for his weakness so far and force Las Vegas to consider change at left guard when JPJ returns.
An automatic long leash to keep his starting job should not be handed to Burford if his dismal performance continues, though, and as of right now, he is absolutely on notice.
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