Oakland Raiders: Biggest Roster Surprises On Cutdown Day

The Oakland Raiders got down to the league-mandated 53-man roster on Saturday, making a few surprising moves before all was said and done.

For the Oakland Raiders – and every other team around the league – Saturday was cutdown day. The day teams are required to get down to the league-mandated 53 man roster limit. It’s often one of the strangest, and yet most interesting, days before the regular season begins.

It’s a strange day in that there are always players you don’t expect to get pink-slipped, who end up getting pink-slipped. And players you don’t expect to make the roster who come out of nowhere and actually make the final 53.

And it’s one of the most interesting days in that you can see how the organization is shaping the roster and get a decent feel for their perceived strengths and weaknesses.

The Raiders, for the first time in a long time, have such a talented and deep (in some areas) roster that they gave up quite a bit of talent to get to 53. Some players who very well could end up on other active rosters were given their walking papers.

The roster as it sits right now, is very likely going to change as some players are sent to the IR – designated to return later in the season – and others are added to fill in some gaps. What you see today may not be what you see in week one against Tennessee.

But for the most part, this is your final 53. The road to getting there was an interesting trip. Here are some of the most interesting moves the Raiders made in getting down to the (mostly) final roster.