Raiders send Ben Heeney to IR, re-sign James Cowser to practice squad, more

Tuesday, the Raiders made several roster moves. First and foremost, they have Ben Heeney to injured reserve, replacing him on the roster with linebaker Perry Riley Jr. They also made several moves on the practice squad including bringing back James Cowser who had spent the offseason, training and preseason before landing on IR.

Cowser had been waived on an injury settlement early in the season. His settlement was for one week plus the three-week mandatory waiting period before the Raiders could re-sign him. Taking a one-week settlement is a sign Cowser hoped to return to the Raiders as soon as possible.

Heeney was starting middle linebacker for the first two weeks of this season and has been relegated a reserve role the past two weeks. He came in for the injured Malcolm Smith in the third quarter of Sunday's game in Baltimore before leaving with an injury of his own. Monday, Jack Del Rio suggested it was likely that Heeney was headed to IR.

Riley Jr. was a fourth round pick of the draft by Washington. where he spend his first six seasons. appearing in 79 games with 63 starts. In that time he totaled 437 tackles (257 solo), 9.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, three interceptions and 26 passes defensed.

In 2013, the 6-0, 240-pounder led the team with 112 tackles and posted a career-high eight passes defensed to go along with three sacks. Last season, he started nine games and recorded 43 tackles and two interceptions.

And taking Washington's leavings has worked out pretty well for the Raiders of late (David Amerson).

In adding James Cowser to the practice squad, the team released practice squad players DL Demetrius Cherry and LB Darnell Sankey.

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