On Saturday, the Las Vegas Raiders finalized their 53-man roster (at least for now), but not before making a move that had people around the league scratching their head. But alas, there’s also good news: Week 1 and the Carolina Panthers is less than a week away — all that and more below.
Raiders trade Lynn Bowden Jr.
Just over four months after making him one of their third-round picks, the Raiders have traded Lynn Bowden Jr. to the Miami Dolphins. If the story stopped there it would be strange — giving up on a pick that high so soon? Without even seeing him in action? But don’t worry: it gets weirder.
The Raiders sent Bowden and a sixth-round pick to the Dolphins in exchange for a fourth-rounder, which, it turns out, was the Raiders’ fourth rounder. That pick was sent to Miami in exchange for linebacker Raekwon McMillan last week, but then came back on Saturday.
The final ledger for the trade: the Raiders send Bowden and a sixth for McMillan and a fifth.
But back to Bowden: this is a disaster, right? The truth is, there’s just no way to sugarcoat it — to give up on a third round pick so quickly is shocking and, yes, disastrous. According to reports, Bowden’s troubles related to his inability to block and a lack of explosiveness. Add to that a crowded building full of offensive weapons, and the Raiders simply did the best they could with a guy they were giving up on.
And I’ll say this: if you’ve already decided he wasn’t going to cut it on your roster, then shipping him out while you can get some value isn’t the worst move. It’s risky, for sure, but it’s better than wasting a couple years’ worth of roster spots on a guy you don’t believe in. Speaking of roster spots…
53-man cut down day
We knew this day was coming, and aside from Bowden, there weren’t that many surprises. Here were my biggest takeaways:
- Rico Gafford, the speedy wide receiver who went undrafted out of Wyoming in 2018, makes the roster thanks to the trading of Bowden and the injury to Tyrell Williams. He completes what is the best and deepest wide receiver room in years.
- Sam Young was the most surprising cut to me — simply because by all accounts he was getting a lot of reps with the first-teamers when Trent Brown wasn’t practicing. He ultimately was added back to the roster though.
- Dallin Leavitt survived cutdown day again, as the key special teamer remains a favorite of the Raider staff. In 17 career games, Leavitt has 11 tackles. (Fellow special teamer Kyle Wilber wasn’t as lucky)
- At the end of the day, this is the most talented team the Raiders have had in a while — mostly due to depth. Aside from cornerback (which is loaded with potential despite the lack of experience), the Raiders have capable subs at every level of the defense. On offense, they boast an elite offensive line, an elite running back room and a ridiculously deep wide receiver room. As for quarterback? Derek Carr has been the talk of camp — now it’s just a matter of whether it translates into the regular season.
Carolina Panthers
As for the Raiders Week 1 opponent, there was some breaking news from ESPN’s Field Yates:
Christian McCaffrey officially makes the Panthers’ 53-man roster. https://t.co/WAs8cNbH74
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 5, 2020
Well, okay, not that big of a surprise. Stay tuned this week for a full preview…