The Oakland Raiders announced that they have released quarterback Landry Jones after signing him earlier in the offseason. The move was made to make room on the roster for recently-signed tight end Erik Swoope.
There had been plenty of speculation regarding the Raiders future plans under center throughout the offseason and whether or not they were ready to commit to quarterback Derek Carr. Now that they have seemingly done for the 2019 NFL season, the question remains who will be his backup.
Oakland has brought in a number of potential options through free agency with Jones, Mike Glennon, and Nathan Peterman. Each quarterback has either served as a backup or competed for a starting job before finding their way to the Raiders despite spending the entire 2018 campaign elsewhere.
Unfortunately for Jones, it now appears to be a two-man race for the backup spot behind Carr in Oakland. He will once again look elsewhere for a roster spot for the 2019 NFL season.
The 30-year-old was initially taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft to potentially develop into a successor for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. He was unable to establish himself as such and was eventually released prior to the 2018 campaign before signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars as a backup for quarterback Blake Bortles.
Jones’ resume hardly inspires hope for teams looking to bring in a viable signal-caller to help add some depth under center. He has thrown for 1,310 yards, eight touchdowns, and seven interceptions thus far in his career and has not played since the final game of the 2017 NFL season.
Meanwhile, it is safe to say that Raiders head coach Jon Gruden is somewhat pleased with what he has seen from the other two candidates in Glennon and Peterman. Although both players failed to make a strong impression during their time as starters, it will be interesting to see which one ultimately wins the backup job.
