Raiders initial 53-man roster: Four undrafted rookies make the squad and other observations

With the last 24 cuts coming down today, the Raiders got down from their 90-man offseason roster to the mandated 53-man rosters. Here it is in all it’s glory.

Quarterbacks (3)

Derek Carr, Mike Glennon, Nathan Peterman

Notes: Gruden wanted to keep all three guys. It came at the cost of letting go of a talented player elsewhere, but Peterman is his pet project.

Running backs (4)

Josh Jacobs, Alec Ingold (FB), Jalen Richard, DeAndre Washington

Notes: Ingold vs Keith Smith was one of the big battles. They chose Ingold.

Wide receivers (6)

Antonio Brown, Tyrell Williams, J.J. Nelson, Ryan Grant, Hunter Renfrow, Dwayne Harris

Notes: Keelan Doss’s release was one of the more surprising. But I had him not making the cut in my first 53-man roster projection mainly because of the sheer number of receivers on the team.

Tight ends (3)

Darren Waller, Foster Moreau, Derek Carrier

Notes: At this position it was mainly Luke Willson vs Derek Carrier. They went with Carrier.

Offensive line (10)

In: Kolton Miller, Denzelle Good, Rodney Hudson, Gabe Jackson, Trent Brown, Jordan Devey, David Sharpe, Jonathan Cooper, Brandon Parker, Andre James

Suspended: Richie Incognito (2 games)

Notes: Ten linemen is a lot. They may end up trimming this a bit before all is said and done, but they do have their starting guard both out for the first part of the season, so it makes a little sense to have the extra guys.

Offensive players: 26

Defensive line (9)

In: Clelin Ferrell, Josh Mauro, Maurice Hurst, Johnathan Hankins, Corey Liuget, Maxx Crosby, Arden Key, Benson Mayowa, P.J. Hall

Notes: Justin Ellis heads for injured reserve. The big battle here was between 2018 2nd round pick P.J. Hall and undrafted rookie Anthony Rush. They went with the recent 2nd rounder over the massive and talented Rush.

Linebacker (4)

Tahir Whitehead, Vontaze Burfict, Nicholas Morrow, Marquel Lee

Notes: Uhm, four linebackers isn’t going to cut it. I expect a move to be made real soon to bring in someone else. There were several surprise cuts here including Brandon Marshall, Kyle Wilber, and Jason Cabinda

Cornerback (6)

Gareon Conley, Daryl Worley, Lamarcus Joyner, Trayvon Mullen, Isaiah Johnson, Keisean Nixon

Suspended: Nevin Lawson (4 games)

Notes: Nick Nelson being cut is the only mild noteworthy cut here. But only because he was a fourth round pick last year. He was clearly beaten out by undrafted rooki Keisean Nixon.

Safety (5)

Karl Joseph, Johnathan Abram, Curtis Riley, Erik Harris, Dallin Leavitt

Notes: Congrats to Dallin Leavitt for cracking the initial 53.

Defensive players: 24

Specialists (3)

K Daniel Carlson, P A.J. Cole, LS Trent Sieg

Overall notes:

Jon Gruden said there were five or six undrafted rookies who could make the team. Four made it — AJ Cole, Keisean Nixon, Andre James, and Alec Ingold. Keelan Doss and Anthony Rush seemed like they might make the roster as well, but were both at crowded positions.

Expect this roster to change some by tomorrow when the Raiders put in waiver claims. Meanwhile they will hope some of the players like Doss and Rush go unclaimed so they can place them on their practice squad.