Raiders make huge move stealing player for NFC foe
With Antonio Pierce now the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, they have already made three moves to the roster, and all three have been linebackers who play physically, much like Pierce did back in his playing days.This time, though, the Raiders stole a former Pro Bowler from an NFC foe right off of […]
With Antonio Pierce now the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, they have already made three moves to the roster, and all three have been linebackers who play physically, much like Pierce did back in his playing days.
This time, though, the Raiders stole a former Pro Bowler from an NFC foe right off of their practice squad.
According to his own agent, Jaylon Smith, the former Dallas Cowboys' linebacker, was on the Saints practice squad but has been signed to the Raiders 53-man roster.
The Raiders have been dealing with a ton of injuries to their linebackers. Robert Spillane and Luke Masterson have been banged up pretty badly, but they are still playing, while Divine Deablo missed the last game. Rookie Amari Burney has been the only backup plan until Curtis Bolton, a special teams ace, just returned.
Here is what the Raiders will be getting in Smith, as told by A to Z Sports Dallas' own Mauricio Rodriguez:
Jaylon Smith has had a rocky career in the NFL. Once, he looked like one of the league's best linebackers after a fantastic 2018 season with the Dallas Cowboys, who drafted him in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft despite a worrying knee injury. Since that 2018 season, it's all been downhill for him. And we're talking a steep hill, here. The truth is the Raiders are getting somebody whose speed and explosiveness simply isn't there on tape. The physicality you want from a linebacker lacking velocity is rare on film, with him struggling to get off blocks. When he does seem to be explosive, he is usually overplaying an assignment. More than once, he seemed to have a lack of awareness and/or understanding of what his job in a play was.
Smith won't come in and change the defense. Heck, he may not even play a ton, if at all. However, this move just shows that Pierce and Kelly mean business when they talk about getting back to the Raider way.
Raiders’ Antonio Pierce wins fans over right away in introductory presser
The Raiders fired Josh McDaniels on Tuesday.
