After spending a beneficial week successful Los Angeles, culminating with a triumph implicit the Rams successful their 2nd preseason crippled Saturday, the Raiders returned to Las Vegas with a overmuch thinner linebacking corps than erstwhile they left.
And it could mean them checking successful again with seasoned escaped cause K.J. Wright, the longtime Seattle Seahawks’ standout linebacker who visited the Raiders 2 weeks ago.
It besides means a clang people for rookie Divine Deablo, who was precocious cleared for signifier aft spending astir of grooming campy connected the Physically Unable to Perform database with a genu injury. Deablo is practicing this week and volition get a agelong look arsenic a imaginable reply to the extent problem.
A ft wounded to starter Nicholas Morrow and a limb wounded to emerging second-year linebacker Javin White of UNLV volition sideline some players for extended periods, pushing the extent illustration to its limit.
And portion the expected returns of Nick Kwiatkoski and Darron Lee to signifier this week volition help, the Raiders mightiness person to look beyond their gathering if the absences of Morrow and White are deemed prolonged.
“We’re bladed astatine linebacker,” Raiders manager Jon Gruden said. “It’s a concern.”
Wright is simply a logical people fixed his narration with Raiders antiaircraft coordinator Gus Bradley, for whom helium played 2 years successful Seattle. The Raiders are intelligibly interested, present much than ever fixed the injuries.
But portion the 10-year seasoned makes sense, a idiosyncratic with cognition of the concern indicated wealth is simply a origin successful presumption of Wright’s asking terms and the Raiders’ spending comfort.
The Raiders person the NFL’s seventh-highest payroll and conscionable implicit $2.2 cardinal successful headdress space.
For a woody to work, it volition necessitate some sides to marque adjustments.
In the meantime, the Raiders volition effort to span the wounded gaps with their existent group, with Kwiatkoski astir apt moving backmost to a starting role, Lee getting a just accidental to carve retired a role, and younger players specified arsenic Deablo and Tanner Muse perchance being asked to instrumentality connected much responsibility.
Asmar Bilal and Te’von Coney besides are connected the roster.
Muse, who missed past play with a toed injury, is listed arsenic the starting strongside linebacker successful the basal defense. He has had a beardown campy and played reasonably good successful the 2 preseason games portion showing playmaking quality disconnected the edge. He had a deflected walk portion rushing the backmost against the Seahawks and came up with a sack against the Rams.
“If that’s what I got to do, I’m gonna bash it,” Muse said. “I’m coming consecutive forward, and my mindset is nobody’s going to halt maine getting to that quarterback. When my number’s called, it’s clip to go,”
Provided Deablo stays connected a steadfast path, he’s expected to get a bully look this week successful signifier and against the 49ers connected Sunday successful the Raiders’ last preseason game.
Contact Vincent Bonsignore astatine vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore connected Twitter.