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Jon Gruden said the Raiders anticipated picking up safety Karl Joseph’s fifth-year option, an inclination without outright guarantee.
The Silver and Black’s head coach said that at the NFL Scouting Combine, well before selecting fellow safety Johnathan Abram last week with the No. 27 overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft. The Raiders now have decided not to pick up Joseph's option before today's deadline. That means the West Virginia alum will enter a contract year in 2020 and make $2.07 million fully guaranteed this season.
The #Raiders are not expected to use their fifth-year option on former first-round S Karl Joseph, source said. He’ll be a free agent in 2020 at 26-years-old, an opportunity to hit the market as the new Oakland regime weighs whether to move on to their own picks.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 3, 2019
The Raiders last declined 2013 first-round pick DJ Hayden’s fifth-round option, and then did so with Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper. Both of those players have since been traded before their fifth NFL season.
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Joseph started the 2018 season down on the depth chart while struggling to master his role in Paul Guenther’s defense. Then he got hurt in Week 3 and was subject to trade rumors around midseason. He did, though, improve within the scheme and played some solid football over the season’s final stretch.
The Raiders found a role for him as a physical tone-setter who often played in the box, occasionally as a blitzer. He had 48 tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble, and two passes defensed over 13 games, a total that included eight starts.
Joseph was recovering from ACL surgery when former Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie drafted him, and he grew into a larger role as a rookie, starting 15 games in 2017, with 58 tackles and a pick.
