Tag: Zach Gentry

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 …

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 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

Busters for Raiders Preseason Week 1 vs Vikings

Raiders who didn’t make a great impression in their Preseason opener vs Vikings

There were many standout performances for the Raiders in their preseason opener in Minnesota. These are the wrong kind of standouts.

Busters

T Andrus Peat 

The nice looking first drive was ended when Peat couldn’t keep Dallas Turner out of the backfield. First Turner laid a hard hit on O’Connell just after he released the ball. Then in third and goal from the three, Turner beat Peat again to sack O’Connell.

DT Byron Young

Young was abused on the first three plays he was in the game. He gave up a seven-yard run, then was blocked into the ground to give up the first down run, and then gave up a 16-yard run that only saved from being much worse because of a Tre’von Moehrig ankle tackle.

S Jaydon Grant

The defense bent but didn’t break on their first two drives. They broke on the third one. Grant was late getting over to give up a 48-yard touchdown run. The next drive, Grant gave up a 21-yard catch.

LB Luke Masterson

Grant was the last line of defense on that 48-yard TD run. Masterson was the first. That was his gap and he wasn’t there. The next drive, he came on the blitz on third and five but missed the sack to give up a nine-yard scramble.

RB Dylan Laube

Laube was twice needed to keep an oncoming rusher from getting to the QB, and both times failed to do so. He gave up two sacks on Brown. The second time, Laube was sent into a backward somersault. Laube had a total of eight yards rushing in the game and that came on a 13-yard run on third and 19. So, it was a give up play. On the other three runs, he had a total of -5 yards. His one return went for 16 yards and was stopped at the 19-yard-line.

QB Anthony Brown

From the moment he took the field, he looked out of his depth. He looked paralyzed, second guessing everything. Nothing looked smooth and he was unable to make corrections when things broke down. And they were breaking down. The first six plays featured no completions, two sacks and a delay of game penalty. In his four possessions, he had one completion for 24 yards, five scrambles for 13 yards, was sacked four times, and fumbled a snap.

S Trey Taylor

The Vikings scored touchdowns on their first two possessions of the third quarter. The first saw Taylor give up a 15-yard catch on third and nine. The second, Taylor was caught peeking in the backfield as his man ran by him for a wide open 33-yard touchdown.

G Corey Luciano

Luciano gave up the second sack on Brown when he didn’t switch on a stunt. Then he gave up the third sack in the same fashion.

C Ben Brown

After the Raiders went down 21-20 in the third quarter, they failed to answer because Brown was flagged for holding and then on third and 21, while Luciano was not switching up on the stunt, Brown was literally ran right by the guy, blocking no one.

TE Zach Gentry

Twice in the third quarter Gentry was tasked with run blocking and gave up the stuff. The first for no gain. The second for a loss of four on third and goal from the one.

Also see the BALLERS…

7 recently cut or waived players Raiders should consider adding

Still some talent out there to be had from roster cuts. Here are 7 of them the Raiders should consider adding.

There are always a few players that teams cut who instantly stun a lot of people. Many of those players are talented enough or fit another team’s need so well, that they are scooped up quickly or claimed off waivers. But not all of them.

Some players still slip through and either remain unsigned or join a team’s practice squad.

Either way, what many refer to as the “final 53-man roster” is anything but final. A better term is “initial 53” because more moves inevitably occur afterward.

Sometimes those moves are a team seeing a player or players become available that they like better than those they kept initially. Other moves include injured players who the team expects to have back in short order, but in order to be added to the IR Designated for Return list, those players must be on the roster after the initial cuts are made.

Now that the dust has settled from the cuts, signings, and claims, I have compiled a list of those players still out there who the Raiders should consider adding this week as they prepare for the season opener.

7 players Giants should consider adding following cutdown day

Cutdown day has come and gone across the NFL and the New York Giants should considering claiming or signing these seven available players.

More than 1,100 players were released, cut or waived on Tuesday as teams trimmed their roster to the required 53 men. Now the race is on to claim or sign those who are available, effectively rounding out rosters ahead of the regular season.

The New York Giants put in seven waiver claims a year ago and were awarded multiple players. General manager Joe Schoen certainly isn’t going to sit on his hands this time around, so expect Big Blue to be active.

Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll will be on the hunt for anyone they believe will help improve their roster.

With that in mind, here’s a look at seven players the Giants should consider claiming or signing on Wednesday.

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin calls Zach Gentry’s injury ‘significant’

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Zach Gentry suffered what Mike Tomlin called a significant knee injury on Sunday.

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After the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-3 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the media about the injuries suffered in the win. FOr guys like cornerback Joe Haden and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tomlin characterized the injuries as the normal bumps and bruises associated with play.

But for tight end Zach Gentry, things aren’t so clear or optimistic. Tomlin characterized Gentry’s knee injury as “significant” and promised an upgrade later in the week.

Gentry has played the last two weeks due to Vance McDonald being on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. There have been no updates on McDonald’s condition since going on the list. Tomlin said in his post-game presser he hopes to have an update this week.

If McDonald cannot return and if Gentry’s injury is as bad as presumed, Pittsburgh will be running a lot more 11 personnel on Thursday against the Baltimore Ravens.

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Week 9 Inactives, Captains: Cowboys still won’t play Anae, Robinson but Elliott to go

With the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers getting ready for kickoff in Arlington, the official inactive lists have been released.

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With the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers getting ready for kickoff in Arlington, the official inactive lists have been released. Ezekiel Elliott, after going through a closely monitored pregame workout routine, is indeed active despite being limited in practice throughout the week. He has yet to miss a game due to injury in his career.

There was some thought that the soft tank would be on for a team that has nothing meaningful to play for the rest of the year, but the team apparently hasn’t reached that point yet, though that could change. The official inactive list can be seen below:

Linebacker Joe Thomas is out with a wrist injury despite returning to practice, though in a limited fashion, on Friday. It will presumably be Sean Lee who fills his shoes.

Defensive end Aldon Smith, who has been dealing with an ailing knee for a couple of weeks will be available for use, though it’s possible he’s on a limited pitch count with Randy Gregory on the gameday roster. Rookie defensive back Reggie Robinson is still not able to get onto the active roster so far this year. The fourth-round pick has been healthy but a scratch all season. Likewise, fifth-round DE Bradlee Anae is inactive as well.

For the Steelers, Defensive tackle Tyson Alualu is out, though that had been reported earlier in the week, which will give the interior of the Dallas line a bit of a break. His replacement is rookie Carlos Davis, a seventh-round pick out of Nebraska.

Week 9 Captains

Meanwhile, the choices for captains for the Cowboys must be getting slim, because it’s a ragtag bunch of players getting the nod this week. Wide receiver Cedrick Wilson, defensive tackle Antwaun Woods and C.J. Goodwin make up that crew.

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