The Oakland Raiders announced that they signed defensive end Ade Aruna, defensive back Jordan Brown, defensive end Kendall Donnerson, offensive lineman Kyle Kalis, center Erik Magnuson and wide receiver Anthony Ratliff-Williams to reserve/future contracts. All six players ended the 2019 season on the Raiders’ practice squad.
Aruna was originally drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the sixth round in 2018 out of Tulane. He missed his entire rookie season due to a knee injury though and then wound up being waived at the end of training camp this year due to an injury as well.
He signed to the Raiders’ practice squad this past week, so the hope is that he will be able to stay healthy and compete for a roster spot next year.
Brown was a seventh-round pick this past year by the Cincinnati Bengals out of South Dakota State. He was waived at the end of training camp though and spent a majority of the season on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad before coming to Oakland.
It seems the Raiders put high value in players that were drafted as Donnerson was a seventh-round selection by the Green Bay Packers in 2018 out of Southeast Missouri State. He spent a major of the 2018 on the Packers’ practice squad before being promoted to the active roster in December.
After being placed on injured reserve this past August, Donnerson was eventually waived and was signed to the Raiders’ practice squad in October. Oakland is always looking for pass rushers, which bodes well for both Aruna and Donnerson.
Kalis is the most-traveled player of this bunch, spending time with the Washington Redskins (twice), Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns and Raiders since going undrafted out of Michigan in 2017. He has played in seven career games, starting two of them.
Magnuson actually spent some time on the Raiders’ active roster in 2019 and started a game when Rodney Hudson was out with an injury. His familiarity with the organization’s offensive scheme and ability to play center will bode well for him making the roster as a backup.
Ratliff-Williams went undrafted out of North Carolina in 2019 and spent some time in the Tennessee Titans organization before signing to the Raiders’ practice squad in October. In three seasons with the Tarheels, he caught 80 passes for 1,340 yards and eight touchdowns, including 42 catches for 689 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his final season in 2018.
