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Oakland Raiders: Way-too-early 53-man roster predictions

ByJustin Fried|
OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 02: Tahir Whitehead #59 of the Oakland Raiders celebrates after a play against the Kansas City Chiefs during their NFL game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on December 2, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 02: Tahir Whitehead #59 of the Oakland Raiders celebrates after a play against the Kansas City Chiefs during their NFL game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on December 2, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
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Oakland Raiders
CINCINNATI, OH – DECEMBER 16: Karl Joseph #42 of the Oakland Raiders and Tahir Whitehead #59 combine to tackle Joe Mixon #28 of the Cincinnati Bengals during the second quarter at Paul Brown Stadium on December 16, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images)

Safeties

Roster:Johnathan Abram, Lamarcus Joyner, Karl Joseph, Erik Harris(4)

Cuts:Curtis Riley, Jordan Richards, Dallin Leavitt(3)

We already talked about Joyner on the last slide and honestly, his inclusion as a “safety” is more semantics than anything. Expect the Raiders to utilize him as a proverbial swiss-army knife all over the defensive backfield.

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The same could be said for both first-round rookieJohnathan Abramand 2016 first-rounderKarl Joseph. Both play a similar hard-hitting, thumping style of defense and neither has a defined role moving forward, although expect both to receive significant snaps — especially Abram.

Erik Harrisshould return as Oakland’s special teams ace after performing admirably in a starting role at points last season.

One move that could shake up the entire depth chart would be if the Raiders opt to deal Joseph ahead of the start of the season. Oakland opted not to pick up his fifth-year option, although they’ve insisted he could still be a part of their future.

However, if Joseph is dealt, that would open up a roster spot for a player likeCurtis Rileywho struggled in a starting role with the New York Giants last season.

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