A UDFA signed in 2016, Darius Latham is headed back to the waiver wire. The Raiders made the decision to cut the third-year defensive lineman hours before the draft, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
Latham made a bigger impression for the 2016 Raiders, playing in 14 games and starting two, than he did last season. Oakland saw the young defender receive a four-game suspension, and Latham ended up playing in just three contests last year. He made 17 tackles as a rookie and has yet to record a sack.
The Raiders signed two UFA defensive linemen in Tank Carradine and Armonty Bryant during Jon Gruden’s first free agency period back at the helm, and the team is expected to pursue help on its interior this weekend.
Pro Football Focus assigned Latham a 77.7 grade last season, indicating some promise may exist for the 23-year-old, but he played only 56 defensive snaps. The Raiders also waived Latham once last season before placing him on their practice squad.