In a bit of a surprise move, the Raiders have released offensive guard John Simpson, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. A former fourth-round pick from only two and a half years ago, Simpson will be placed on waivers. 
The release is surprising for a couple of reasons, the first of which being that Simpson started every game for the Raiders last season. He had earned two starts the year before as a rookie out of Clemson, before winning the full-time job at left guard in his sophomore season.
There were early signs of trouble for Simpson, such as when it was reported that only left tackle Kolton Miller and right guard Denzelle Good were guaranteed starting jobs for the 2022 season, according to Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed of The Athletic. Good retired a week after that report. The report also noted that rookie third-round pick Dylan Parham “could push (Simpson) at left guard or Andre James at center.”
Parham would earn a full-time starting role as a rookie. He is the only Raider rookie to do so and only one of two Raiders (offensive lineman Thayer Munford) who have started a game at all as a rookie for Las Vegas this year. But Parham isn’t the one who took Simpson’s spot. Parham was the immediate plugin after Good’s unexpected retirement. Simpson was eventually benched before Week 3 for fourth-year lineman Alex Bars. Bars would hold down the starting job until getting injured early in the team’s loss to the Rams last night. Simpson would fill in for Bars for the rest of the game, his first extensive action on offensive since getting benched.
The second reason that his waiving is a shock is that the 25-year-old still has another year on his rookie contract with a base salary of $1.01MM and only $199,195 in guaranteed money. This makes Simpson a no-doubt pickup for any team with a hole on their offensive line and an early enough waiver priority. Simpson is a cheap offensive line option with starting experience. The risk is extremely low. He would fit well on a contender who may need to plug a hole due to injuries, but, at this point, Simpson is at the mercy of the waiver wire and his value may be too good to pass up for many of the teams with top priority.
While the move doesn’t change much, if anything, about the Raiders’ starting lineup, it does raise questions about the team’s offensive line depth. Las Vegas has three offensive lineman, Brandon Parker, Lester Cotton, and Justin Herron, on injured reserve. Simpson was serving as the primary backup for both guard spots and, if James were to get injured, Parham would slide over to center and push Simpson into the lineup. With Simpson out, the Raiders now hold only two backup linemen, Munford and Jackson Barton, on the active roster. Practice squad linemen Hroniss Grasu and Sebastian Gutierrez should expect to hear their names called in the coming days.
An interesting aspect about this move is that it leaves 2020 fourth-round pick Amik Robertson, the team’s final pick of that year’s draft, as the only remaining member of the Raiders’ 2020 draft class. First-round wide receiver Henry Ruggs was released after his involvement in a fatal car accident. First-round cornerback Damon Arnette was released after appearing in a threatening video with a handgun. Third-round utility back Lynn Bowden was traded to the Dolphins along with a sixth-round pick in exchange for a fourth-round pick. Third-round wide receiver Bryan Edwards was traded to the Falcons along with a 2023 seventh-round pick for a 2023 fifth-round pick. Third-round safety Tanner Muse was waived without ever taking snap for Las Vegas after spending his whole rookie season on IR. Robertson, who has started six games at cornerback for the Raiders, four this year, is the last man standing as we add Simpson to the list.
At this point they might as well continue to clean house and move on from the largely ineffective Gruden/Mayock drafts. As I’ve said before, I’m interested in knowing who was responsible for those drafts. If I had my guess Chucky is the one that pulled the trigger on the early reaches that haven’t panned out, he’s always tried to prove that he’s an innovator and the smartest guy in the room. While we did grab Jacobs and Mad Maxx, the rest has been underwhelming to say the least. Ziegler has had one draft and one offseason under his belt so far and didn’t have any early picks to make so I think time will tell what his results will be. Those winning New England teams always seemed to have a fantastic offensive line and a solid defense so I’m optimistic that we will build up those spots and hopefully in short order.
Why would there be a need to “Clean House” on a team that went to the playoffs last season?
Josh McDaniels is trying to be like Big Daddy Billy and churn the bottom of the roster to players on edge. This move makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. The coaching staff put the same amount of effort into this decision as they do with halftime adjustments — NONE
At the very least Patrick “The Black Picasso” Graham should have been provided an opportunity to return to New England and create double digit disappearances.
he’s always tried to prove that he’s an innovator and the smartest guy in the room.
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I’ve been saying the same thing for at least a year. Every early pick, except Ruggs, was a stretch. Even if you loved Ferrell and Leatherwood, trading back a few spots is almost riskless.
If he makes it past the Lions, I’ll scratch my head. Perhaps I’d better be starting to scratch my head if he makes it to the Lions. And if I hadn’t accepted that the Raiders are uncannily prone to stupid decisions, I would be scratching my head for quite some time already.
Gruß,
BSHH
There must be more to this. On the surface, even for the Raiders, this is a head scratcher.
I’d like to say I have enough trust in this regime to believe that, rondon. Unfortunately, I’m more inclined to believe it was just another poor decision based on what I’ve seen.
Welcome to the Bears.
If another opportunity in the NFL is not in John’s future, he can always go into the citrus juice business, specifically = “OJ” !!
Just ask Denver fans how good McDaniels is at evaluating talent. Now all of sudden years later he now is an evaluator? Only an owner like Bowl Head would think it would be any different. Thanks for playing the game Vegas. You lost this game.
Very odd that a guy who just got 93% of the offensive snaps in the prior game would get waived. Even if he played poorly it makes more sense to simply demote him than waive him. Obviously something else is in play.
Like everyone, this one sounds strange. Even on the Raiders, you don’t go from being a starter to getting cut in a few weeks.