The Oakland Raiders quickly became one of the more intriguing teams from around the league this offseason.
With head coach Jon Gruden currently gearing up for his second year at the helm in Oakland (again), the Raiders also managed to acquire former All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown from the Pittsburgh Steelers to get things going this offseason. Not only that, but the Raiders also secured a trio of first-round NFL Draft picks this past spring en route to adding some serious talent from the collegiate ranks — a talent that can become an immediate asset to the team, no less.
Last but not least, the Raiders were then tabbed to participate in the latest installment of the hit HBO series, “Hard Knocks,” which officially kicked off with the season's debut episode just last week. With this series chronicling the Raiders' journey through training camp, Oakland will also need to focus on football as September begins to loom large.
As a result, the once-heralded AFC West franchise will need to begin trimming its roster down from 90 players to the league-mandated 53 by the time Week 1 of the 2019-20 regular season rolls around. With that in mind, there are at least a few players that will quickly become prime candidates to find themselves on the outside looking in for the Raiders when all is said and done this summer.
James Butler, RB
Unfortunately for current Oakland Raiders running back James Butler, the AFC West franchise is loaded at the position with a ton of promise at the forefront of this group. As it stands today, the Raiders employ Mack Brown, Josh Jacobs, Doug Martin, Jalen Richard, and DeAndré Washington at the running back position with the majority of this group already having proved themselves at the highest level.
With Jacobs serving as a rookie for the Raiders, the former Alabama Crimson Tide standout just recently became a first-round NFL Draft pick and will likely carry most of the workload in the backfield for the Raiders in 2019-20. Not only that, but the trio of Martin, Richard and Washington will more than likely serve key complementary roles alongside Jacobs as the soon-to-be first-year rusher gets his feet wet in Oakland.
It is also worth noting that veteran running back Isaiah Crowell is with the Raiders this season as well, though he has already been placed on injured reserve.
Mike Glennon, QB
This is obviously the most intriguing name on the list as journeyman quarterback Mike Glennon has yet to latch on with another NFL franchise after spending the first few seasons of his professional career as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Although Glennon did sign a sizable contract with the Chicago Bears once upon a time, the former Buccaneers starting quarterback has yet to have more than a cup of coffee with any other NFL franchise.
Although Glennon was brought in by Raiders head coach Jon Gruden to backup current Oakland starting quarterback Derek Carr, it appears as though the former third-rounder is not guaranteed to make the team's eventual 53-man roster. Perhaps even more intriguing is the fact that Glennon could lose his roster spot to former Buffalo Bills quarterback Nathan Peterman, who Gruden continues to laud as training camp progresses. Despite the fact that Peterman previously became a laughing stock in Buffalo after struggling mightily to begin his NFL tenure, Gruden continues to praise both he and Carr with Glennon seemingly headed toward becoming the odd man out come September.
Of course, the Raiders could keep three quarterbacks with one failing to suit up on gameday while Oakland could very well part ways with either Glennon or Peterman en route to adding a third-string signal-caller to the practice squad. This is surely one of the most interesting position battles to keep an eye on in Oakland going forward.
Trent Sieg, LS
With fellow long snapper Andrew DePaola already in place in Oakland, the Raiders will surely be forced to part ways with Trent Sieg in the end. Unless DePaola goes down with an injury or Sieg proves himself as a superior special teamer outside of his long-snapping duties, it will be quite difficult for the latter to make it to the 2019-20 regular season as a member of the once-heralded AFC West franchise.
While the 32-year-old DePaola is a six-year NFL veteran out of Rutgers, the 24-year-old Sieg is a second-year player out of Colorado State; the veteran almost always wins out when it comes to specialty positions in the NFL. However, Sieg does have his counterpart in DePaola beat in both the age and size departments as this could ultimately become his saving grace if he is lucky.
It is also worth mentioning that while DePaola is technically gearing up for his second season as a member of the Raiders after stints with both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears, he was notably placed on injured reserve by Oakland after suffering a knee injury during punt coverage in Week 1 of last season.
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