After trimming their active roster down to 53 on Saturday, the Oakland Raiders filled out the rest of the roster with a 10-man practice squad that includes defensive tackle Anthony Rush, wide receiver Marcell Ateman, defensive end Quinton Bell, wide receiver Rico Gafford, cornerback Dylan Mabin, running back Damarea Crockett, tight end Eric Saubert, offensive guard Lester Cotton Sr., cornerback Nick Nelson and linebacker Justin Phillips.
Rush was one of the biggest preseason surprises after going undrafted out of UAB and signing with the Raiders at the beginning of August.
The defensive tackle spent two seasons at UAB and in 25 total games, he had 77 tackles (43 solo), 20 tackles for loss, two sacks, one interception returned for a touchdown, one pass defensed and two forced fumbles. His senior season was his best, posting career-highs in total tackles (43), tackles for loss (11), sacks (two) and forced fumbles (two).
Ateman was a seventh-round draft pick of the Raiders in 2018 out of Oklahoma State. He appeared in seven games (six starts) his rookie season and hauled in 15 receptions for 154 yards and a touchdown.
He fell victim to the Raiders’ depth at wide receiver but fortunately, they were able to keep him in the organization on the practice squad.
The Raiders drafted Bell in the seventh round out of Prairie View A&M this year so keeping him around despite not having a roster spot for him had to have been a priority. He recently changed positions from wide receiver to defensive end so now he will have more time to continue to get familiar with the position.
Gafford spent most of the 2018 season on the Raiders practice squad before being activated in December. The same could potentially happen again this time around.
Defensive back is perhaps the Raiders’ deepest position so Mabin did not have much of a chance to make the roster after signing as an undrafted free agent out of Fordham, unfortunately. The same can be said for Nelson, who was a fourth-round draft pick in 2018 out of Wisconsin.
Crockett adds to the Raiders running back depth after Doug Martin was placed on IR. He had 2,252 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns in 28 career games at Missouri before spending the preseason with the Houston Texans.
Saubert is another player the Raiders brought in from outside the organization after he was cut by the New England Patriots. The former fifth-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons had five receptions for 48 yards in 2018.
Cotton was another undrafted free agent of the Raiders’ out of Alabama who was around during offseason workouts and training camp.
The final member of the practice squad, Phillips, comes from outside the organization. He originally went undrafted out of Oklahoma State this year and spent training camp and the preseason with the Dallas Cowboys.
