Tag: Denzelle Good

Raiders Oline suffers major blow as Denzelle Good heads to reserve/retired list

Big blow for Raiders OL as Denzelle Good placed on reserve/retired list

Easily the weakest position group on the Raiders has been their offensive line. The one potential boost they would receive was to come from Denzelle Good who was lost in the 2021 season opener to a torn ACL. He had returned to the lineup to start camp after signing a new restructured deal that reduced his salary basically in half. Not a week later, he’s gone again, possibly not to return.

Monday the Raiders placed Good on the reserve/retired list, thus ending his 2022 season before it started and perhaps his career.

Good had been a key offensive lineman for the Raiders for two full seasons in 2019 and 2020 both at guard and tackle. And he figured to step into the starting right guard spot this season.

Now the team must look to the competition between several other players for the job.

This offseason during Good’s absence, Lester Cotton Sr has taken most of the first team reps. It remains to be seen whether Cotton will continue taking those first team reps throughout camp knowing that Good will not be returning.

Others in the mix include rookie third round pick Dylan Parham, Jermaine Eluemunor, and Alex Bars. And, depending on what happens at right tackle, perhaps Alex Leatherwood as well.

In a corresponding move, the Raiders re-signed OL Jordan Meredith.

Raiders G Denzelle Good reworks deal, takes practice field for first time in 10 months

Denzelle Good hit to practice field for Raiders for first time in 10 months while also taking a pay cut.

The last time we saw Denzelle Good take the field was September 13, 2021. He started the season opener at right guard, played 17 snaps and tore his ACL. He was lost for the season and had yet to practice this offseason through OTA’s and minicamp.

Today, Good took the field with his Raiders teammates for the first time since that mid-September day.

Before he did, however, he and the team had some business to take care of.

While Good is the projected starter at right guard, he will have to compete for his job and his contract would have made it complicated should he lose that battle. So, they reworked it.

Good took a more than $2 million paycut, going from a $3.1 million salary down to a $1.035 million deal with $425K in incentives according to ESPN’s Field Yates.

It’s somewhat unusual for a player to simply take a pay cut, so more than likely there’s a reason he did it.

Good’s previous salary as it was had no guaranteed money — making him a candidate to be a cap casualty should he not win the starting job outright. Or perhaps even if he did, if the gap wasn’t significant.

His new deal is presumably fully guaranteed and you figure the incentives are for playing time, raising his salary to roughly half what he was making on his previous deal.

Ranking the top 25 players on Raiders roster: 16-20

We continue with our countdown of the Raiders top 25 players with 16-20

We continue with out countdown of the top 25 players on the Raiders roster. Now we enter the top 20 where we get a better feel for just how talented the Raiders roster is (or is not).

Raiders right tackle job is up for grabs with many suitors

Right tackle is shaping up to be a free-for-all in Las Vegas

To say the Raiders’ right tackle job is up for grabs would be an understatement. Predictions on who will be the starter come the season as well as opinions on who is should be are vast.

There are probably about five guys who could potentially take this spot. They include last year’s top pick Alex Leatherwood, incumbent Brandon Parker, journeyman Jermaine Eluemunor, guard Denzelle Good, and rookie seventh-round pick Thayer Munford.

One could make a case for any of these guys to stand out from the rest. But the truth is no one really knows how it will shake out. And that includes the coaching staff.

Leatherwood was selected at 17 overall in the 2021 draft to be the team’s right tackle and was moved inside after just four games. Could he have developed since then and reclaim the right tackle job? That is the primary question for him. He also wasn’t great at guard, but he has a high salary and that could prompt the team to try to get him on the field in some capacity.

Parker stepped into the right tackle job after Leatherwood was moved inside. He wasn’t great, but the team brought him back anyway which suggests they see something in him. Perhaps a backup swing tackle?

Eluemunor’s three starts last season all came at the right guard spot. But started eight games at tackle in 2020 with the Patriots and Josh McDaniels. That could give him a leg up in this competition.

Good slid over from guard to tackle early in the 2020 season and played quite well for a couple of games. He may be best suited at guard, but if he is one of the best five options to be on the field, tackle could be where he lines up.

Munford may be a seventh-round pick, but he has a lot of tackle experience and was projected as a mid-round pick. Being a draft pick of the new regime means they have high hopes for him and could favor him over holdovers from the previous staff’s roster.

Honestly, any of these guys have a legit shot at the right tackle job depending on how things shake out in camp. The next step is to see who is getting first-team reps come minicamp in June.

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Raiders Week 1 snap counts vs Ravens: Denzelle Good plays 10 snaps on torn ACL

Raiders Week 1 snap counts vs Ravens: Denzelle Good plays 10 snaps on torn ACL

Reports came out on Tuesday afternoon that Denzelle Good has been lost for the season with a torn ACL. Good left the game Monday night against the Ravens on the seventh snap of the game. But if you look at the snap counts, he played 17 snaps. How could that be? Well, I’ll tell you.

Initially, Good was replaced at right guard by Jermaine Eluemunor. But come the second quarter, Good trotted back onto the field. He played the full four snaps on the first series. And after briefly being replaced again by Eluemunor, Good returned to the game to play six more snaps. That means Good played ten snaps ON A TORN ACL! That’s insane.

The Raiders are going to miss him the rest of the season and I could see them looking to add a guard in the coming days.

Most of the notable snaps came on defense where there were a lot of new faces. Two recent additions came at linebacker where the team added veterans Denzel Perryman and KJ Wright.

Perryman got the start alongside Cory Littleton and the two led all linebackers in snaps. KJ Wright saw 54% of the snaps which made last year’s starter Nick Kwiatkoski the odd man out, seeing just 23 snaps (24%).

New starting corner Casey Hayward saw all but one snap on defense. This means former starter Damon Arnette saw just one snap. Meanwhile, rookie starting nickel Nate Hobbs played 34 snaps (50%).

Here’s how the snap counts stacked up.

OFFENSE Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Kolton Miller T 86 100% 5 16%
Alex Leatherwood T 86 100% 5 16%
John Simpson G 86 100% 5 16%
Derek Carr QB 86 100% 0 0%
Andre James C 86 100% 0 0%
Darren Waller TE 81 94% 0 0%
Jermaine Eluemunor T 69 80% 4 12%
Bryan Edwards WR 57 66% 0 0%
Henry Ruggs III WR 56 65% 7 22%
Hunter Renfrow WR 47 55% 4 12%
Foster Moreau TE 46 53% 22 69%
Josh Jacobs RB 45 52% 0% 0%
Kenyan Drake RB 41 48% 0% 0%
Alec Ingold FB 23 27% 22 69%
Zay Jones WR 20 23% 9 28%
Denzelle Good G 17 20% 1 3%
Derek Carrier TE 11 13% 27 84%
Willie Snead WR 2 2% 7 22%
Marcus Mariota QB 1 1% 0 0%
DEFENSE Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Johnathan Abram SS 68 100% 20 62%
Trayvon Mullen CB 68 100% 5 16%
Trevon Moehrig DB 68 100% 5 16%
Casey Hayward CB 67 99% 5 16%
Maxx Crosby DE 62 91% 5 16%
Cory Littleton LB 57 84% 15 47%
Denzel Perryman LB 52 76% 0 0%
Johnathan Hankins DT 46 68% 5 16%
Quinton Jefferson DT 43 63% 5 16%
K.J. Wright LB 37 54% 3 9%
Nate Hobbs DB 34 50% 15 47%
Darius Philon DT 34 50% 5 16%
Yannick Ngakoue DE 33 49% 2 6%
Carl Nassib DE 30 44% 7 22%
Nick Kwiatkoski LB 16 24% 23 72%
Solomon Thomas DE 15 22% 0 0%
Gerald McCoy DT 9 13% 0 0%
Dallin Leavitt FS 8 12% 22 69%
Damon Arnette CB 1 1% 4 12%
SPECIAL TEAMS Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Divine Deablo LB 0 0% 22 69%
Tyree Gillespie DB 0 0% 16 50%
Trent Sieg LS 0 0% 11 34%
AJ Cole III P 0 0% 11 34%
Daniel Carlson K 0 0% 10 31%
Amik Robertson CB 0 0% 8 25%
Brandon Parker T 0 0% 5 16%
Nick Martin C 0 0% 5 16

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Raiders G Denzelle Good done for the season with torn ACL

Raiders G Denzelle Good done for the season with torn ACL

The first bit of bad news has come down on the injury front for the Raiders. Starting right guard Denzelle Good will be lost for the season with a torn ACL according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

The injury occurred on the first drive of the game. Good had to be helped off the field and didn’t return. He was replaced by recently added Jermaine Eluemunor.

The Raiders were already fielding a backup at left guard with John Simpson replacing Richie Incognito who was out Monday night with a calf injury. The Raider are hoping Incognito will be back soon, but he has not practiced in a month, so there’s little indication he is close to returning.

Other players we are awaiting injury word include QB Marcus Mariota, DE Yannick Ngakoue, and DT Gerald McCoy. Head coach Jon Gruden said all four players were being evaluated today and was unable to give an update at his press conference.

Ranking the top 25 players on Raiders roster: 11-15

Ranking the top 25 players on Raiders roster: 11-15

After revealing players 25-16 over the last two days, we head into the top 15 players on the Raiders roster:

15. LB Cory Littleton

Some people may be surprised to see Littleton ranked this high after the season he had in 2020. I don’t think it’s fair to write him off after one season. Consider the situation he found himself in. He joined a new team, with a complicated defense, in a year that had no offseason.

As a free agent, he was considered the best all-around linebacker on the market. I am not ready to let one down season erase that. I see a bounce-back year for Littleton with a full offseason in a more simplified system under new DC Gus Bradley.

14. OG Richie Incognito

At times Incognito looks just as dominant as he ever did. But he’s missed 18 games the past two seasons and is about to turn 38 in July. I don’t expect he will be at the level he was known for in 2017 and before when he was a durable Pro Bowl player, but he will be far from a liability on the line either.

13. WR Hunter Renfrow

Third-and-Renfrow is absolutely a thing. Defenses know Derek Carr will be looking for his reliable slot target on third down and yet Renfrow still manages to get open and move the chains.

He upped his game last season from his outstanding rookie season, catching seven more passes (56) for 51 more yards (656). He also did a solid bit of punt returning, averaging 11.5 yards per return on 23 returns.

12. DT Johnathan Hankins

Probably the most under-appreciated player on the Raiders’ defense. He’s started every game the past two seasons and appeared in every game since being signed early in the 2018 season. He clogs the middle and puts up tackle numbers you don’t normally see from a nose tackle, averaging 49 combined tackles the past two seasons.

11. G Denzelle Good

Good was seen as a quality reserve guard when the Raiders claimed him off waivers from the Colts in 2018. Last season he proved he was a whole lot more. A career guard, he stepped in at right tackle for a couple of games early in the season and then moved back to guard to replace the injured Incognito for the rest of the season. He made himself a must re-sign and a starter after the team traded away Gabe Jackson this offseason.

Continue on to rankings players 6-10

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NFL free agency: Best fits for Chargers at each position of need in 2021

Gavino Borquez names the best fits at each position for the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Chargers enter this offseason with a decent-looking roster on paper, but there are still some areas that need to be solidified before the 2021 season begins.

With a healthy amount of salary cap space available, Los Angeles can address those in free agency. While it’s easy to want the biggest names on the market, it’s not that easy to land them.

With that being said, here are the best fits at each position of need based on players who fit the team’s scheme and culture.

1 pending free agent Chargers should target from each AFC West team

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez looks at one pending free agent from each team in the AFC West that Los Angeles should consider.

The Los Angeles Chargers are set to enter free agency with a healthy amount of salary cap space available

Even though the franchise has some in-house players that will need to get paid, there’s a great chance that general manager Tom Telesco and company will be aggressive in signing other pender free agents to bolster an already talented roster.

With that being said, we are going to list one pending free agent from each team in the NFL that could be a realistic target for L.A. First up is the AFC West.

Cameron Jordan expected to face 3rd-string Raiders right tackle on MNF

New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan is expected to face Denzelle Good, a Las Vegas Raiders backup guard forced to play tackle.

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So, this might be a mismatch: the Las Vegas Raiders are preparing to start reserve guard Denzelle Good at right tackle against the New Orleans Saints, with both the starter (Trent Brown) and backup (Sam Young) doubtful to suit up because of injuries. That puts Good against All-Pro Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan.

Sure, the situation could change in the time before kickoff; Good normally plays guard, not tackle, but was pressed into action last week when the nominal next-man-up (third-year pro Brandon Parker) was inactive. Parker could get a look instead, but the Raiders were encouraged by Good’s performance against the Carolina Panthers.

“Denzelle has played a lot of football,” Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Olson told Raiders Wire. “He’s played football at a high level, not only here, but in Indianapolis as well. We have high expectations for him, and he has high expectations himself. You certainly hate to lose your starter, it’s not ideal. Hate to lose a backup to him, it’s certainly not ideal, but again they’ll rise to the challenge.”

Good has appeared in 47 games (28 starts) in his NFL career, predominately at the right guard spot. He did play well at Carolina and didn’t allow a sack, but he wasn’t exactly facing a bunch of world-beaters there.

Now Good is slated to face a five-time Pro Bowler coming off a career year. Jordan typically rushes from the left end spot against right tackles, and he’ll be a sky-high challenge for Good to contain. He bagged a personal-best 15.5 sacks last season and was one of three Saints players to take down Tom Brady in Week 1 (backup defensive ends Trey Hendrickson and Carl Granderson also recorded sacks).

We’ll see how it turns out on “Monday Night Football” when the Saints and Raiders kick off at Allegiant Stadium. But this is a battle Jordan has to feel confident he can win.

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