Getting to know Hroniss Grasu

With the season approaching, there is so much focus on what the Las Vegas Raiders’ starting offensive line is going to look like.

However, there are some interesting storylines on the second level of the unit. The Raiders new backup center could be Hroniss Grasu if rookie Dylan Parham wins a guard spot. When starter Andre James missed some time during the OTA session, Grasu was running with the first team. If James gets injured, Grasu (who the new Raiders’ brass decided to keep instead of 2021 backup center Nick Martin), will be snapping the ball to quarterback Derek Carr.

Let’s look at some key information about Grasu:

Age:

He is 31.

College:

Oregon.

NFL history:
As a third-round draft pick by the Chicago Bears in 2015. He played for Baltimore in 2018-19 and with San Francisco 2020. He has also spent time with Tennessee and Miami, but Denver played any games with those teams. Grasu signed with the Raiders’ practice squad last October and and re-signed in January.

Experience:

He has played in 27 games and has started 16 games.

What to expect:

At the moment, it seems like Grasu has a real chance to be James’ backup. This new regime has not been shy about bringing in players, so if Grasu has made it this far as the backup, he will likely get a long look in training camp and in the preseason and keep the Raiders’ from looking outside of the franchise for their backup center. His biggest fear could the Raiders feel a numbers crunch elsewhere and Parham is the primary backup at center as well as guard.