Oakland Raiders: Five veterans who may not make the 53-man roster
By Kevin Saito
Mario Edwards Jr.
It’s a move that would be a shock, if it came to pass. But it’s a move that could possibly, come to pass.
It’s safe to say though, that since the Reggie McKenzie took him in the second-round (thirty-fifth overall), of the 2015 Draft, Edwards has yet to live up to expectations. Not even close.
The biggest problem is his inability to stay on the field. Over his three seasons, Edwards has played in just 30 games – making 24 total starts. In those 30 games, he’s managed just 5.5 sacks and 71 total tackles.
The talk of the offseason has been Gruden and Guenther moving Bruce Irvin to a spot on the edge, which would push Edwards in, which many think would benefit him. Which, it possibly could.
The problem is that Gruden then went out and drafted P.J. Hall, Maurice Hurst, re-signed Justin Ellis, signed Tank Carradine as a free agent, to a unit that also has Treyvon Hester and Eddie Vanderdoes.
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Ellis obviously isn’t going anywhere. Neither are Hall and Hurst. And Hester has shown that he can make plays along the interior of the defensive line.
Carradine is the only one realistically on the bubble out of the group. He’s certainly not guaranteed a spot on the 53-man roster, and needs to show out in camp if he wants to give him a shot.
As does Edwards.
The real question that needs to be asked though, is how many defensive tackles are the Raiders going to keep? The quick math shows that they’ve already three locked into place – Hall, Hurst, and Ellis. Hester is likely to make it, and it doesn’t seem likely the team will give up on last year’s third-round pick without giving him a shot in a new system this year.
Which, if that comes to pass, makes five. Will the Raiders carry more than five interior defensive linemen? Edwards better hope so, or he might find himself on the wrong side of a numbers game.