Oakland Raiders: Way-too-early 53-man roster predictions
By Justin Fried
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 rookie Johnathan Abram and 2016 first-rounder Karl 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 Harris should 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 like Curtis Riley who struggled in a starting role with the New York Giants last season.