Oakland Raiders: Most Surprising Moves On Cut Down Day

Aug 22, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio talks to an official in the third quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium. The Minnesota Vikings beat the Oakland Raiders 20-12. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

For better or for worse, the Oakland Raiders‘ 53 man roster for the upcoming season is set. At least, it’s set for the moment, anyway. While the vast majority of the cuts were completely expected – did anybody really expect GiorgioTavecchio or Brian Leonhardt to stick on the final roster? – there were a few surprises mixed in with Oakland’s cut list.

Though the cuts made to get the team to a 53 man roster implies that the team is actually done shaping the roster, things are far from set. As players across the league are handed their walking papers, you can expect that Reggie McKenzie and Jack Del Rio are sifting through the rejects pile and trying to find athletes they think can help this team win now.

Hopefully, their search for players begins with cornerbacks.

If the Raiders had one big failing over the course of this exhibition season, it was the play of their cornerbacks. McKenzie and Del Rio raised a lot of eyebrows when they opted to go with a youth movement on the corners rather than bring in a veteran presence to take some meaningful snaps while being a good tutor to Oakland’s young bucks.

We’re betting that more than anything, McKenzie and Del Rio are wishing they had a “do-over” for that decision.

All of this to say that although we have a “final” 53 man roster for us all to peruse and discuss, there really is nothing “final” about it. As the team looks at the castoffs of other teams who released players to get to the 53 man limit, or perhaps tries to work a trade here and there, we should be ready for the possibility of the roster looking a little bit different in the coming week.

Until then though, let’s look at some of the more surprising roster moves that got the Raiders down to the 53 man limit.

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