For the second week in a row, the Raiders will be without cornerback Damon Arnette. He had suffered concussions in consecutive games, which is no small thing. Along with Arnette being out with a concussion, so too are safeties Johnathan Abram and Jeff Heath, leaving the secondary without three of its starters.
Enter Daryl Worley.
The Raiders brought him back a little over a week ago and Jon Gruden announced Wednesday he will be up versus the Chargers Thursday night.
“Daryl Worley’s back, he’s a quick study,” said Gruden.
Worley was a full-time starter with the Raiders over the last two seasons, but don’t expect him to simply step back into a starting role now. The question is, what role could he play with the team?
“It’s hard to bring a guy in that you haven’t seen for a while and ask him to do a lot of things,” Gruden said of Worley. “We have a role for him… I don’t want to give away the game plan, but he will play in the game.”
The next man up at cornerback all season has been Nevin Lawson. Expect that to continue this week. After Lawson has been the combo of Keisean Nixon and Isaiah Johnson, depending on the match-up and situation. Each has had some good moments in their roles.
It’s the safety position that is more in need of help than cornerback, as they are down to just Erik Harris and Dallin Leavitt.
Worley moved over to safety a couple of times late last season due to injuries at the position, so it’s certainly possible in certain situations, he could come in at safety. Especially if there is another injury at the position during the game.
Worley is also a solid tackler, so he would be an asset in short-yardage and goal-line packages.
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