Las Vegas Raiders Reveal Their COMPLETE Practice Squad
Justin Churchill breaks down the Raiders' 16-man practice squad and biggest names to watch.
Video Transcript
The Las Vegas Raiders have finalized their 53-man roster, and then the next day, they went ahead and finalized their 16-man practice squad.
I'm Justin Church of AZ Sports Las Vegas, and this is the time of year where things get a little crazy because, teams do finalize their initial 53-man roster, but that roster doesn't always look the same the next few days.
I mean, teams will-- They will put some money on their initial 53-man roster just so that they don't risk losing them to another team.
And then after the initial 53-man roster date deadline is set, they end up moving that guy to practice squad or moving that guy to, you know, where- wherever, IR, you know, whatever it is.
But the Raiders, they do have their, 16-man practice squad, and this one's a little interesting because it's pretty much exactly who you would have thought it'd be.
You know, whenever you're looking at the 90-man roster before they cut down to 53, there are names that you kind of already know just aren't going to make the 53-man roster.
I mean, there's only so many spots.
There's so many good football players too.
And a lot of these guys are good football players, but certain position groups are stacked, others aren't.
So you know, leading into the day like today that, you know, what positions the, the Raiders and other teams are going to go for, for their practice squad.
And so for the Raiders, you know, these names, all of these guys were on their 90-man roster.
All of them.
There was-- there is not one guy on this list who was not on their 90-man roster that they put on their practice squad, as an addition.
So let's go through it real quick.
Brandon Cleveland, you know, the seventh-round pick this past year, he's gonna start on the practice squad.
That's kind of where everybody had him at, kind of more of a project guy, not necessarily a guy that they ca- they expected to come in right away and be a starting nose tackle, right?
I think we all knew that.
Jafari Harvey, defensive end, he ha- he made some plays in the preseason.
Roman Hemby, running back, this is a guy who battled for a potential roster spot at the running back position, didn't quite make it.
Nicholas Henning, tackle, Devin LaFayette, safety.
Tokyo Tow made the practice squad.
Maybe they still have faith that this is a guy who can unlock that elite accuracy that we saw in college, because in the preseason, he just didn't do it.
And we even saw special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis say at one point he's never seen anything like what Tokyo Tow has done, where in practice, he is nails.
In college, he's nails, and then preseason, he's just not.
Doesn't know why that didn't translate.
So they want to get him on the practice squad, and they want to see, you know, kind of what his development is as a kicker, because Matt Gay is not going to be on this team forever.
Cameron McGrone, this is a guy that a lot of people wanted to make the fifty-three man roster at that linebacker position because the depth just isn't great at that position, and he played really well in the preseason.
But, the, the Michigan linebacker ends up getting, put on the practice squad, and honestly, that's kind of a really good, deal for the Raiders.
Kamar, a Missouri tackle, Chris Myrick, tight end, Daria Ogumbawale, running back, another guy that was in contention for that final running back spot.
Dylan Lobby got it just over him.
I was under the impression that Daria Ogumbawale would be a better fit because the current running back room just has pretty much no experience.
Whatever Ashton Gentry did last year is the only experience they have.
So, Daria Ogumbawale, a seven-year veteran, I believe.
I thought that that was almost a lock.
It wasn't.
I was wrong.
Whatever.
Albert, I think we all, struggle saying his name.
Tight end from, Missouri, six five, a guy that a lot of people wanted to make the roster solely because of his size, and he is a veteran guy.
He made the practice squad.
Great move for them.
Will Putnam, been on this team for some time now.
Center, out of Clemson, he made the practice squad.
Now, here's where it gets a little interesting.
The next four guys are all guys that, fans wanted back on this team some way, whether that was fifty-three or sixteen-man practice squad.
You got Kian Sloan, defensive end from North Carolina State.
He showed out in the preseason.
They had to have him back.
Gary Smith III, another UDFA pickup from UCLA.
He had some really good plays on the interior, during preseason.
Devin Tompkins, special teams guy.
They loved what they saw from him in practice.
Had a great camp.
Didn't really translate to preseason games, but there might be something there.
Greedy Vance, this guy played for the Raiders last year.
He played some, a few, a handful of snaps, and he was pretty decent.
And then against the Houston Texans, preseason game, he actually played pretty well.
So, we'll see what their plan is for him.
He can play in the n-- He can play in the slot, and that's kind of a position that they're gonna end up needing if a guy like Terron Johnson goes down.
So, this is a really good sixteen-man practice squad.
No complaints.
It's pretty much who you thought it would be.
