Jordan Meredith – Syndication Server

Raiders to field 6th different starting OL of the season Week 11 vs Dolphins

When the Raiders take the field against the Dolphins week 11, they will have their sixth different starting offensive line combination.

Sunday when the Raiders take the field on offense against the Dolphins in Miami, the offensive line will be almost completely unrecognizable from the one that took the field at the start of the season. Heck, it won’t even resemble the one that took the field for their last game.

Injuries along with poor play from the initial starters has completely transformed the Raiders offensive line. This week they will field their whopping sixth different starting offensive line combination this season.

From left to right, the starting five will be LT Kolton Miller, LG Dylan Parham, C Jackson Powers-Johnson, RG Jordan Meredith, and RT DJ Glaze.

The only position on the line with the same starter from the season opener is left tackle Kolton Miller.

Cody Whitehair started the season at left guard — he’s OUT for this game. Andre James started the season at center — he’s OUT for this game.
Dylan Parham started the season at right guard — he got injured and then supplanted as the starter by Jordan Meredith.
Thayer Munford started the season at right tackle — he got injured and then supplanted as the starter by rookie DJ Glaze.

Here is what the starting lineup has looked like for each game this season:

Week	LT	LG	C	RG	RT
1	Miller	Whitehair	James	Parham	Munford
2	Miller	Peat	James	Parham	Munford
3	Miller	Whitehair	James	Parham	Munford
4	Miller	P-Johnson	James	Parham	Glaze
5	Miller	P-Johnson	James	Parham	Glaze
6	Miller	P-Johnson	James	Parham	Glaze
7	Miller	P-Johnson	James	Meredith	Glaze
8	Miller	P-Johnson	James	Meredith	Glaze
9	Miller	Whitehair	P-Johnson	Meredith	Glaze
11	Miller	Parham	P-Johnson	Meredith	Glaze

“At the end of the day, it’s kind of been like our whole season. Next man up, right? Next man up,” head coach Antonio Pierce said of the shuffling line.

“You just hate that we keep changing all these pieces along the offensive line, because at some point, you’d like just to have five guys there, continuity, chemistry. That’s really the glue to our team, when you can have that. So something we’re working on consistently.”

On one hand, it’s hard to gain any consistency of play without continuity. On the other hand, finding the best five is important and at least two of these guys was replaced by someone who outplayed them.

It’s very possible this lineup is the best five the Raiders have. Parham moves back to left guard where he had played the past two seasons and Andre James didn’t do much to keep Rimington Award Winner Powers-Johnson from getting his shot to take the job. And thus far, JPJ has looked the part.

As for depth, the Raiders may need to dig into their practice squad for that.

Jordan Meredith earns Raiders starting right guard job over Dylan Parham

A strong performance by Jordan Meredith prior to the bye week earns him the right to keep the starting RG job over Dylan Parham.

Injuries have caused the right side of the Raiders offensive line to switch hands this season. And in both instances, the team decided it best to stick with the guy who stepped up rather than their initial top choice.

First it was Thayer Munford who was replaced at right tackle by rookie DJ Glaze. And Munford never got the job back. He is now the backup right tackle and third string left tackle.

Now it’s Jordan Meredith who stepped in for the injured Dyland Parham at right guard a few weeks ago. And even with Parham back healthy now, Meredith has been given the nod to keep that job over the former third round pick Parham.

“I think Jordan Meredith, we haven’t talked enough about him, but Jordan’s
done a hell of a job filling in,” head coach Antonio Pierce said Friday. “And the way he’s been playing, he’s earned the right to be a starter going forward.”

Meredith earned the vote of confidence in part by having a fantastic game in Cincinnati before the bye. A rare sight this season to see dominance from a Raiders offensive lineman.

Parham was active for the Bengals game and came in at left guard for the injured Cody Whitehair. If Whitehair is unable to go this week, Parham would start at left guard, giving him the chance to do the same thing Meredith did and earn a starting job there. Keep in mind, Parham was the team’s starting left guard the past two seasons, so he’s pretty familiar with the position.

Ballers for Raiders Week 9 loss to Bengals

Picking out the individual performances in the Raiders loss to the Bengals in Week 9.

Another early strong effort eventually crumbled and got away from the Raiders just as has happened so many times this season. And ultimately the game was over by midway through the third quarter.

Before that happened, however, there were some positive performances to mention.

Ballers

WR Jakobi Meyers

Believe it or not, Meyers surpassed 100 yards receiving for the first time as a Raider. Hard to believe considering how much he has meant to this team since they signed him prior to last season.

He got things started with the longest play on the Raiders opening drive, catching a 22-yard pass to put them at the Cincinnati 23. They went on to score an opening drive touchdown.

The next drive, he led out with a 15-yard grab to the Cincy 49 and then had the longest catch again, going for 23 yards on a slant to put the Raiders in field goal range at the 26. From there they tied it up at 10-10. Meyers would add two more catches for 22 yards on the Raiders final drive of the first half that nearly got them into scoring range again.

C Jackson Powers-Johnson, G Jordan Meredith

These two were doing some serious work on the Raiders opening drive. The Raiders run game actually looked proficient and it was because of these two pushing defenders around. They ran the ball seven times on the opening drive. The three longest ones either JPJ, Meredith or both laid key blocks. And JPJ opened up the hole one what was initially ruled a TD (and probably should have stood) on first and goal.

Funny thing is, the only reason either of these two are playing the positions they’re playing is because of injuries. But they are earning the right to keep those jobs.

CB Jack Jones

Early in the fourth quarter, he had a pick six to make the game a bit interesting late. Then he ended the next Bengals possession with a pass breakup on third down.

Continue to the Busters…

Raiders OL ‘in flux’ Week 9 vs Bengals ‘everything is on the table’

With uncertainties due to injury, there are as many as four different alignments the Raiders could deploy on the offensive line Week 9.

We could be looking at another new starting lineup for the Raiders offensive line Sunday when they head to Cincinnati to face the Bengals.

Injuries at various positions have had the Raiders moving guys around all season, and this week carries with it probably the most uncertainty they’ve seen yet.

Primarily the question marks are at center and right guard. Andre James was injured last Sunday and missed practice Wednesday. Meanwhile Dylan Parham returned to practice after missing the past two weeks.

The team shuffled the personnel on the interior line to cover for Parham and James’s absences. First with Jordan Meredith stepping in at right guard for Parham and then Jackson Powers-Johnson moving over from left guard to center to cover for James. This meant Cody Whitehair had to come in at left guard.

At this moment, it’s still up in the air as to who will start at each spot this week.

“It’s just in such a flux right now,” Raiders OC Luke Getsy said of the interior offensive line. “Everything’s on the table, honestly. That’s the cool part, when you have guys that are smart in Dylan and Cody and Jordan and Jackson, you’re able to figure out at the end of the week what’s the best fit and what makes the most sense to get going. But, honestly everything’s on the table right now.”

That means, you have five different players who could start at the three interior spots and four different possible alignments. Fun, fun, fun.

Busters for Raiders Week 7 loss to Rams

There’s plenty of blame to go around for the Raiders’ latest ugly display. But I’m still going to try and really zero on in the worst of the worst.

Busters

QB Gardner Minshew

His first drive looked decent, leading the Raiders to their first score. But it went downhill after that. His second possession they went three-and-out. His next drive ended with him rolling left on third down and forcing a pass to Brock Bowers that was easily intercepted. There was no reason to even attempt that pass. Just a terrible decision on Minshew’s part. And it led to the Rams’ first TD.

In fact, Minshew would turn the ball over four times in the games. The first three led to TD’s – two interceptions and a fumble scoop and score – and the fourth one ended the game.

Every time he got even near the red zone, things would fall apart. First time, he got to the 25 and went 0-2, second time he got to the 24 and had a false start and went 0-2, third time he got to the 23 and went 0-2, fourth time he got the ball at the 14 off a turnover and went 0-1, And the fifth time he got to the 15 and went 0-2 – completing one pass that was stopped for no gain. Yeah, that’s right, five times from the 25-yard line or closer, he didn’t complete a single pass for positive yards. Going 1-10.

T DJ Glaze

The first drive of the game ended with Glaze giving up a pressure that led to a bad pass on third down and a punt. The next drive he was flagged for holding and the Raiders were unable to make the yards back up, but in the process of trying, Aidan O’Connell injured his thumb on a rushing defender and is now on injured reserve.

His final act was to jump early on fourth and goal from the four when the Raiders needed a touchdown to have a chance to tie it up. Suddenly the fourth and goal at the four became fourth and goal at the nine.

G Jordan Meredith, C Andre James

The second score for the Rams came on defense. When Meredith failed to block Cobie Durant and he shot through to hit Minshew for the strip sack. Kam Curl picked it up and returned it for the touchdown to give the Rams a 14-3 lead in the second quarter.

The first possession of the third quarter for the Raiders ended with a three-and-out and it was led out with James giving up a run stuff.

The Nate Hobbs interception gave the Raiders the ball at the LA 14-yard-line. On first down, Minshew threw for Brock Bowers for six yards, but James was flagged for ineligible man down field to bring it back.

On the final drive for the Raiders, Meredith missed his block to give up a run stuff on third down that forced the Raiders to go for it on fourth and one. Then on first and goal from the four, James gave up a pressure, forcing Minshew to throw the ball away.

T Kolton Miller

Late in the second quarter, the Raiders drove to the Rams’ 24-yard line looking to get their first touchdown. That ended in part because Miller gave up a hit on Minshew, leading to a bad throw, so they settled for a field goal to go into the locker room down 14-6.

The Raiders were in third and five from the LA nine-yard line to begin the fourth quarter. But Miller gave up a pressure and Minshew ditched it out of bounds to preserve at least a field goal. The next drive he gave up a run stuff for a loss.

DT John Jenkins

After the Rams’ first takeaway, the first play saw Jenkins driven back nine yards on a run play that put them in scoring range. He later was seen being pushed back on another nine-yard run and on the final Rams’ possession, while they looked to run clock, he was blocked back on a 14-yard run. Jenkins finished with zero tackles or any other stat in the game.

HC Antonio Pierce, OC Luke Getsy

With a reprieve on the missed field goal (and earlier extra point), the Raiders went on what was to be their long drive to try and salvage the game. A touchdown and two-point conversion ties it. They would get all the way to the four-yard-line. Along the way they converted a fourth down with a Mattison run, followed by a nine-yard Zamir White run, and then a 12-yard end around by Tre Tucker to put them in first and goal at the four. And would get no closer.

From there, Getsy inexplicably went away from the run completely, calling three pass plays despite Minshew having been 0-7 on passes inside the 28-yard line before that. Then on fourth down, DJ Glaze was flagged for a false start and Antonio Pierce lost his nerve, opting for a field goal instead. This despite a field goal keeping them a touchdown away and giving up major field position and clock time in the process. A terrible decision by Pierce that at best made their hopes of tying or winning the game exponentially more difficult and at worst sealed the Raiders fate.

See the Ballers

Raiders Week 3 inactives vs Panthers

These players won’t play in Raiders home opener vs the Panthers.

The inactives are out and there aren’t a lot of surprises among them.

https://twitter.com/Raiders/status/1837923650126991517

LB Divine Deablo was ruled OUT on the final injury report with an oblique and concussion. Luke Masterson will start at linebacker in his place.

CB DeCamerion Richardson was Doubtful with a hamstring injury. The team activated Sam Webb to fill the depth issue.

RB Dylan Laube has been inactive all three games this season so far. They have three backs active in Zamir White, Alexander Mattison, and Ameer Abdullah.

Tyreik McAllister and Ramel Keyton being inactive is a numbers game. They have all of their wide receivers healthy.

Jordan Meredith being inactive is because rookie round two pick Jackson Powers-Johnson is playing in his first game of the season.

10 veterans and returning Raiders firmly on roster bubble

There are a lot of new faces in Raiders camp this year. And with new faces comes new competition to beat out familiar faces. Likewise there are a few veteran players on this team who could see their jobs taken by new blood. These are the ten …

These are the ten returning Raiders and veterans most in danger of being on the outside looking in come roster cutdown day.

This eight-year veteran backup is only here because he’s familiar with Luke Getsy’s system. That only goes so far though. The team could very decide to keep only two quarterbacks on the active roster. And it wouldn’t take much for a more intriguing option to come available on the waiver wire.

Along with being injured through most of camp, this sixth year veteran just hasn’t looked special in his time on the field. Other than Tom Telesco knowing him from their time with the Chargers, Guyton doesn’t really offer anything invaluable to the team. They could be better off taking a chance on Tyreik McAllister or snagging a talented receiver on the waiver wire.

This sixth-year veteran appeared in one game for the Raiders last season. The Raiders would have to, first of all, keep four tight ends for him to stick. And second of all, he’d have to prove he is the best choice. And quite frankly Cole Fotheringham has looked better.

Meredith has been with the Raiders the past two seasons and appeared in 17 games last season. There is eight offensive lineman ahead of him, all of whom have a very good chance of making this roster. He is the one who will be sweating it out on Tuesday and probably Wednesday as well.

He appeared in just six games as a rookie, with no starts. Not exactly what you hope to get from a third round pick. He has admitted he had an attitude problem, which is commendable. But his level of play has not offered any indication that he has made a second year leap. He was on the field a lot in the finale, after which head coach Antonio Pierce was not at all pleased with the play of the interior line.

Nesta Jade Silvera was also in that 2023 class. He was selected in the seventh round. He was also on that line that was getting gashed on the ground against the 49ers. There has been an opening for someone to step up and be the fourth interior defensive lineman. Has he shown he can be that guy? I’m not sure he has.

Is it possible the Raiders could cut all three of these former drafted defensive tackles? Sure it is. Antonio Pierce made it clear that he will be looking to the waiver to try and improve the depth along the interior defensive line. There is a chance one of these three sticks on the initial 53, but it’s just as likely that will be a short stay in favor of a waiver claim.

This 2023 sixth round pick looked good at times this preseason. But he hasn’t been able to stay healthy. Meanwhile undrated rookie Amari Gainer has looked great. If Burney doesn’t head for injured reserve, he may just lose out to Gainer.

Speaking of guys who can’t stay healthy. Facyson missed almost the entire 2023 season and now he’s been missing since early in camp. If the best ability is availability, the Raiders can’t hang onto him in the hopes that he can get healthy and stay that way. Either he heads to IR, or they give up on him and move on.

Smith has a fairly good chance of sticking around. But he’s down the depth chart far enough that he is in some danger here. The Raiders selected the Jim Thorpe Award winner Trey Taylor in this past draft, so you’d figure they’d like to hold onto him, making Smith potentially the fifth safety, providing they keep that many safeties on the initial 53.

See my full Raiders 53-man roster prediction

Ballers & Busters: Raiders preseason Week 3 vs Cowboys

Raiders Ballers & Buster for their preseason finale vs Cowboys

One more chance for many hopefuls on this Raiders training camp roster to show what they can do, both for the Raiders coaches as well as the rest of the league.

How did they do in this final exhibition? Let’s take a look

Ballers

WR Kristian Wilkerson

With one, and possibly two, receiver spots up for grabs on the Raiders roster, Wilkerson set out to prove he was worthy of it. And he put his best foot forward, catching 10 passes for 122 yards. No other Raiders receiver came with seven catches of his total and only one receiver came within 100 yards of his receiving total.

K Daniel Carlson

Went three for three in the game, including a 62-yarder and a 50-yarder. That 62-yarder was an upright splitter which looked like it would’ve been good from 70 yards. What a weapon.

RB Damien Williams

He doesn’t just have a great first name, he was breaking off big yards in chunks. He had two of the top four longest plays by the Raiders in this game and the only two runs that went for over ten yards. He had the Raiders’ only touchdown in the game on a 24-yard burst. Then he had a 20-yard run to lead out the third quarter that led to a field goal. He finished with 54 yards and a TD on six carries (nine yards per carry).

G Jordan Meredith

On both of those long Williams runs, Meredith laid a key block. His only mistake in the game was being flagged for holding.

DT Nesta Jade Silvera

Early in the second quarter, he had a run stuff for one yard on third and two. A few plays later he made the stop on a three-yard run. His best play may have come on a 16-yard catch in which he raced into the secondary to make the tackle. His five combined tackles led all Raiders defensive linemen. He added a QB hit as well.

Honorable Mention

QB Aidan O’Connell — Another efficient day for the rookie. Though he was unable to throw any touchdowns, he didn’t turn the ball over either.

WR Cam Sims — Had another fantastic grab in this one. This time reaching up high to pluck a 22-yard grab up the left sideline. The skills he has shown as a jump ball target are valuable.

Pages: 12

Raiders Week 15 snap counts vs Patriots: Backup guards go most of the way

The two guards who played most of the game for the Raiders Sunday were on the practice squad a week ago.

After several weeks in which the Raiders were getting comfortable with the same lineup along the offensive line, things got shaken up Sunday.

The Raiders were forced to dig deep into the depth chart at both guard spots. The result was two guards who were on the practice squad this time last week playing most of the snaps.

Hroniss Grasu was signed off the practice squad last week. He got the start at right guard in place of the injured Alex Bars and Grasu ended up playing every snap in the game.

Before halftime, left guard Dylan Parham went down with injury and in came Jordan Meredith who was elevated from the practice squad in the days leading up to the game. Meredith ended up playing 41 snaps (60%).

Against a tough Patriots defense, it was clear the changes on the line affected protections, but the Raiders were still able to tie up the game late before the defensive touchdown to win it.

Offense				Spec Tms
Player	Pos	Num	Pct	Num	Pct
Kolton Miller	T	68	100%	4	12%
Jermaine Eluemunor	T	68	100%	4	12%
Hroniss Grasu	G	68	100%	4	12%
Andre James	C	68	100%	3	9%
Derek Carr	QB	68	100%	0	0%
Davante Adams	WR	67	99%	0	0%
Mack Hollins	WR	60	88%	3	9%
Josh Jacobs	RB	51	75%	0	0%
Jordan Meredith	G	41	60%	4	12%
Foster Moreau	TE	38	56%	8	25%
Darren Waller	TE	33	49%	0	0%
Hunter Renfrow	WR	29	43%	6	19%
Dylan Parham	G	27	40%	1	3%
Keelan Cole	WR	16	24%	0	0%
Ameer Abdullah	RB	15	22%	21	66%
Jakob Johnson	FB	15	22%	13	41%
Thayer Munford	T	13	19%	4	12%
Zamir White	RB	3	4%	6	19%
Defense				Spec Tms
Player	Pos	Num	Pct	Num	Pct
Nate Hobbs	CB	65	100%	5	16%
Duron Harmon	SS	65	100%	4	12%
Denzel Perryman	LB	65	100%	0	0%
Trevon Moehrig	FS	65	100%	0	0%
Maxx Crosby	DE	64	98%	6	19%
Chandler Jones	DE	60	92%	0	0%
Bilal Nichols	DT	54	83%	6	19%
Amik Robertson	CB	54	83%	0	0%
Luke Masterson	LB	44	68%	17	53%
Tyler Hall	CB	43	66%	0	0%
Roderic Teamer	SS	30	46%	15	47%
Jerry Tillery	DT	30	46%	4	12%
Kyle Peko	DT	22	34%	8	25%
Clelin Ferrell	DE	18	28%	6	19%
Isaiah Pola-Mao	FS	12	18%	22	69%
Matthew Butler	DT	11	17%	0	0%
Sidney Jones	CB	11	17%	0	0%
Malcolm Koonce	DE	1	2%	21	66%
Special Teams				Spec Tms
Player	Pos	Num	Pct	Num	Pct
Matthias Farley	FS	0	0%	28	88%
Brandon Bolden	RB	0	0%	24	75%
Curtis Bolton	LB	0	0%	22	69%
Jesper Horsted	TE	0	0%	18	56%
Darien Butler	LB	0	0%	17	53%
Brittain Brown	RB	0	0%	11	34%
AJ Cole III	P	0	0%	11	34%
Trent Sieg	LS	0	0%	11	34%
Daniel Carlson	K	0	0%	9	28%
Sam Webb	CB	0	0%	6	19%

Browns release IOL Jordan Meredith from practice squad

The Browns have made a move on their practice squad

According to the league’s daily memo, the Cleveland Browns have made a move on their practice squad. The Browns have released interior offensive lineman Jordan Meredith from their reserve unit this time. Trying out six players last week, one has to wonder if the Browns could be making room for one of those players.

Meredith was added to the practice squad at the beginning of the month but was not called up for a gameday elevation. For the time being, the Browns have an opening on their practice squad, so keep your eyes peeled to see how they fill it.

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