Silver Minings: Brandon Parker put on injured reserve, four others let go

For the majority of the weekend, Alex Leatherwood dominated a lot of the talk about the right tackle the Las Vegas Raiders will be getting rid of this week. However, the Raiders ended up placing Brandon Parker on injured reserve Sunday afternoon, meaning he won’t play for the team this season and his five-year run with the organization is likely over.

Parker began training camp as the favorite to win the starting job, but an abysmal performance in the Hall of Fame game cast doubt on his viability to fill said role. Then, a tricep injury kept him off the practice field and from a chance to redeem himself as he hasn’t suited up since the beginning of the month.

This leaves Las Vegas with Leatherwood, Jermaine Eluemunor and rookie Thayer Munford as the three most likely candidates to be the team’s Week 1 starting right tackle. Those three combine for eight regular season starts at the position, so it certainly feels like the pressure for the organization to find a veteran starter is intensified. Head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Zeigler will undoubtedly be scrounging the waiver wire this week as every team gets down to 53 men on the roster.

On a related note, the Raiders also placed defensive tackle Tyler Lancaster and linebacker Tae Davis on IR and waived tight end Nick Bowers and wide receiver Justin Hall. There are still 22 more cuts to go by Tuesday.

In other Raiders links:

• Davante Adams makes NFL Top 100: the wideout cracked the top ten as the seventh-best player in the league and the highest-ranked Raider.
• Potential surprise cuts: Parker was one of the five.
• A dominant and dynamic duo: “It was a glimpse, but what the Derek Carr-Davante Adams connection did in the New England joint practices is encouraging,” writes our Ray Aspuria.
• Leatherwood trade target for Steelers?: Pittsburgh has offensive line troubles and the second-year pro might benefit from a fresh start.