Monday Jon Gruden said changes were coming. Tuesday, the first half of those changes were made with the cuts of safety DJ Swearinger, linebacker Preston Brown, and defensive tackle Terrell McClain. Today the other half of those moves were announced.
To fill those spots on the roster, the Raiders have signed two free-agent players and called up Nick Nelson from the practice squad.
The two free agents are defensive tackle Olsen Pierre and tight end Eric Tomlinson.
Pierre was originally undrafted out of Miami in 2017. The 6-4, 293-pound defensive tackle is in his third year in the NFL, having spent time with the Chicago Bears, Arizona Cardinals, and the New York Giants. He spent the first nine games of this season with the Giants. Pierre has appeared in 33 NFL games with eight starts, totaling 50 tackles (35 solo), and 7.5 sacks.
Tomlinson was originally undrafted out of UTEP and signed with the Houston Texans in 2016. The 6-6, 263-pound tight spent the first three seasons of his career with the New York Jets before switching locker rooms to play for the Giants early this season and then playing a couple games with the Patriots as well.
Over his career, Tomlinson has appeared in 41 contests and made 31 starts, tallying 17 receptions for 194 yards and one touchdown. The Raiders are hoping Tomlinson can fill in for Foster Moreau who was lost for the season with a knee injury.
Nelson was called up from the Raiders’ practice squad. He was originally a fourth-round pick (110th overall) by the Raiders in the 2018 NFL Draft.
With safety DJ Swearinger out, the Raiders will have to figure out how they want to shuffle the secondary. Nelson is a cornerback which gives the team a lot of corners to choose from, but not many safeties.
Additionally, the Raiders have signed TE Paul Butler, LB Te’von Coney and OL Kyle Kalis to the team’s practice squad.
In a corresponding move, the team has released TE Cole Wick from its practice squad.