Each year, the draft is followed by a frenzy of undrafted free agent signings by each team. The phone calls start before the draft is even over, letting prospects know that if they are not selected, they are interested in signing with them.
Inevitably there are a few prospects available once the draft is over who most people are pretty shocked weren’t drafted. The Raiders managed to reel in a few of the more surprising non-drafted players. The highest rated was probably Notre Dame LB Te’Von Coney.
The standout linebacker had 239 tackles including 21.0 for a loss in his last two seasons for the Fighting Irish.
There were mock drafts out there that had Coney being selected as high as the fourth round. The
Coney ultimately didn’t show enough to justify those expectations and he was let go with the 53-man roster cutdowns prior to the season. He was later added to the team’s practice squad.
The team has just announced they have brought back the former college standout linebacker to give him another shot at cracking the roster. He re-joins other 2019 undrafted Raiders like Alec Ingold, Keelan Doss, Andre James, and Lester Cotton Sr.
Before writing Coney off because he didn’t make the squad last season, consider the likes of Denico Autry and Seth Roberts. Both former Raiders undrafted free agents who didn’t make the roster as rookies and put it together in their second opportunity to go on to have solid careers. Sometimes it just takes time to get on track at the NFL level.