Oakland Raiders: Way-too-early 53-man roster predictions
By Justin Fried
Linebackers
Roster: Brandon Marshall, Vontaze Burfict, Tahir Whitehead, Marquel Lee, Jason Cabinda, Nicholas Morrow, Te’Von Coney (7)
Cuts: James Cowser, Kyle Wilber, Koa Farmer (3)
The veteran acquisitions of Brandon Marshall and Vontaze Burfict will give the Raiders one of the oldest and most experienced linebacker cores in football. Pairing them with the incumbent Tahir Whitehead should only serve to drive home that fact.
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Whitehead struggled at the start of last season but turned it on a bit later and wound up leading the team in tackles. Expect the trio of Marshall, Burfict, and Whitehead to start in defensive coordinator Paul Guenther‘s base 4-3 defense.
Elsewhere, Marquel Lee, Jason Cabinda, and Nicholas Morrow will all be relegated to backup roles after starting at points last season. One interesting player to keep an eye on is undrafted Notre Dame linebacker Te’Von Coney.
Coney isn’t the fastest individual but he’s a tackling machine and could serve as a reliable two-down linebacker sometime in the future. For the time being, he should push for a roster spot as a special teamer.
If Coney gets the nod, the likes of James Cowser and Kyle Wilber will likely miss the cut.