We are five games into the 2024 season for the Raiders and they are already tapping into their rookie class to fill out their starting lineup. The most recent will be Round five linebacker Tommy Eichenberg who will start Sunday when the team travels to Denver.
“With Luke [Masterson] being out, Tommy will start,” said Pierce. “Tommy’s coming along. He got off to a great start in OTA’s and then training camp, and then we had a little hiccup there with the injury, but he’s bounced back really strong. We feel really good, he’s a good complement to Robert Spillane and he’s really good for our defense. Smart kid, he’s hard nosed. He’ll make some rookies mistakes, but he does play 100 miles per hour.”
Masterson was filling in for injured linebacker Divine Deablo who will miss another game with an oblique injury. Thus the Raiders digging deep into the linebacker corps for Eichenberg to get the start earlier than the Raiders intended.
He will be the fourth Raiders rookie to start this season for the Raiders. Others include top pick Brock Bowers, Round two guard Jackson Powers-Johnson, third round tackle DJ Glaze.