If Jon Gruden had his way, safety Derwin James would be patrolling the Raiders‘ defensive backfield instead of the Chargers’. Gruden today told reporters that he preferred to select James in the first round of this year’s draft, but Oakland had already used high picks on safeties — Karl Joseph and Obi Melifonwu — in recent years, per Eric Williams of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Raiders ultimately used the 15th overall selection on UCLA offensive tackle Kolton Miller, who is now manning Derek Carr‘s blindside. James has emerged as an early Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate with his play in Los Angeles, but Gruden’s remarks can be interpreted as a subtle dig at Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie, who reportedly hasn’t meshed with Gruden.
Here’s more from the AFC:
- Dolphins safety Reshad Jones will be available for Week 5 after missing the previous two weeks with a shoulder injury, writes Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com. Jones was sidelined for Miami’s games against Oakland (win) and New England (loss), forcing rookie defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick to take over at safety opposite T.J. McDonald. With Jones’ return, Fitzpatrick will move back into his natural slot corner role. Jones, who entered the league as a Dolphins fifth-round pick in 2010, has been a full-time starter since his second season in the NFL. Last spring, he inked a long-term extension that should keep him in South Beach through 2021
- Rookie Bengals center Billy Price hasn’t suffered any setbacks since suffering a foot injury in Week 2, but he’s still expected to be in a walking boot for at least two more weeks, tweets Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. That means Price will miss games against the Dolphins and Steelers, and possibly more if his recovery timeline is extended. Cincinnati’s bye comes in Week 9, so the Bengals could potentially hold Price out through then if they want to be cautious. With Price out, the Bengals have turned to former starting guard Trey Hopkins to fill in at the pivot.
- Chargers linebacker Kyzir White underwent a minor knee operation on Monday and will miss Week 5, head coach Anthony Lynn told reporters, including Williams (Twitter link). White isn’t expected to miss much time, however, and should be back “sooner rather than later,” per Lynn. A fourth-round rookie out of West Virginia, White has started three games for Los Angeles this season, racking up 12 tackles in the process. Jatavis Brown should see more snaps in White’s absence.
Dear Jon Gruden: when you had your way, you traded Khalil Mack. I dont think anything else needs to be said
Man I agree!… pretty obvious Mack would get the Raiders to the super bowl…. Gruden took over a team he knew had no chance to get anywhere and got 2 first round picks from a Bears team that has a 2nd year QB. But hey stupid people like to watch pass rushers sack QBs for no reason.
Agreed. It’s odd how everyone is critical of Chucky thus far. He realized the the Raiders were lacking the talent and the culture for consistent success. It makes perfect sense to build the team up from scratch as opposed to throwing money at a stud to wallow on a mediocre squad. Gruden gets flack for purging the roster of McKenzie guys when it’s typically the right decision. Are we forgetting how poor of a job Reggie has done in the vast majority of his roster decisions? Obi and Joseph were wasted picks. Gruden should be critical of mistakes
Since when is it typical for a coach to have more authority than the GM? McKenzie is going to get out of Dodge at the first opportunity and no competent GM is going to be interested in going to the Raiders so that he can also be undermined by Gruden. At some point Davis is going to realize that handing Chucky a ten year contract was a Homer Simpson move but by that time Carr and whatever other talent the Raiders have now will be long gone.
Maybe because of how he complains about how hard it is to find pass rushers after trading away an arguable future hall of famer?