Today the Raiders had to end the hopes of 26 players who wanted to suit up in Silver and Black this season. This was a big job to be certain, but with the way the team played this preseason, it may not have been all that difficult. Here are the cuts the team made today.
Termination of vested veterans: WR Shaun Bodiford, QB Trent Edwards, S Matt Giordano, G Daniel Loper, CB Lito Sheppard, LB Sam Williams
Waived/Injured: WR Shawn Bayes, G Roy Schuening, CB Jeremy Ware
Waived: TE Kevin Brock, DE Mason Brodine, DB Stevie Brown, DT Jamie Cumbie, LB Chris Francis, LB Bani Gbadyu, DT Derrick Hill, DE Tommie Hill, WR Chad Jackson, LB Jeremy Leman, CB Walter McFadden, WR Eddie McGee, CB Sterling Moore, P Glenn Pakulak, G Alex Parsons, RB Louis Rankin, FB Manase Tonga
QB Terrelle Pryor placed on the reserve/suspended list
The surprises on this list are QB Trent Edwards, G Daniel Loper, LB Sam Williams S Stevie Brown, CB Walter McFadden, and CB Sterling Moore.
Cutting Trent Edwards leaves the team with just two active quarterbacks on the roster in Jason Campbell and Kyle Bolller. Terrelle Pryor will not be active until his suspension is up week six. Even then there is no guarantee he will be ready. Edwards was also neck and neck with Kyle Boller for the backup QB spot, so it is surprising they would part ways.
Loper was re-signed this offseason to replace Robert Gallery at left guard. He has since been unseated by rookie Stefen Wisniewski. Loper has played terribly in the preseason and his release became more and more likely. His release combined with the cuts of Alex Parsons and Roy Schuening leave the Raiders thin at offensive guard.
Sam Williams is one of those guys we all got tired of predicting would get cut, because he always seemed to hang on. For nine years he was a backup linebacker and special teams player for the Raiders, but his time looks to have finally come. This leaves the Raiders lacking depth at stong side linebacker, so I wouldn’t be surprised if a signing to replace him isn’t in the works.
Stevie Brown was thought at one time to be the heir apparent to Michael Huff at free safety. Well, Huff was re-signed to a big contract and the team turned to Jerome Boyd at free safety. Brown was the odd man out.
News of Walter McFadden being cut came out earlier in the day. He was the Raiders’ round five pick last season and has never distinguished himself. He looked plain terrible this preseason. I predicted he would be out but it was far from a certainty. Just because a player has played terribly doesn’t always mean the team will give up on him after just one partial season.
Sterling Moore was the best looking corner in camp not named Stanford Routt. A lot of people, including myself, thought he had earned a spot on this team. He is a shoo-in for the practice squad and will likely be activated to the roster this season.
Jeremy Leman was recently signed from the Chargers waiver wire to fill the backup middle linebacker spot. It is very short notice but his departure leaves the Raiders without a backup middle linebacker.
This also means bubble players who did make the team include: WR Derek Hagan, WR Nick Miller, TE Brandon Myers, TE David Ausberry, OT Khalif Barnes, OT Stephon Heyer, S Jerome Boyd, S Mike Mitchell, LB Quentin Groves, LB Darryl Blackstock, and DE Jarvis Moss.
Among the more shocking players to make the team (for now) are: RB Michael Bennett, LB Bruce Davis Jr, TE Richard Gordon, CB Joe Porter, and OT Seth Wand.
The Raiders keeping four tight ends could signal that Kevin Boss won’t be ready for the opener against Denver. The Raiders also strangely kept five running backs; four running backs is standard. Porter being chosen over Sterling Moore or the other corners on this squad is another surprise. But, yet again, that could change in the coming days and throughout the season. For now Porter is more of a special teams player. Seth Wand gives the team five offensive tackles. With the team’s needs at linebacker and corner, Wand’s time in Oakland may last another day or so.
Follow me on Twitter @LeviDamien or befriend me on Facebook.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
