During the 2017 season a lot of San Diego-based football fans are going to be kind of like free agents. With the Chargers out of town many of their fans are now FORMER fans looking for a new team to root for.
At NBC 7 we are still doing Football Night in San Diego, but we’re not going to be nearly as Chargers-centric as usual. In fact we’ve seen there is a strong presence of fans from other teams so what do you say we announce we’re paying attention to a broader swath of the NFL with this:
The Oakland Raiders trimmed their roster to 53 players on Saturday. Remember this is likely not the way the team will look when they open the season against the Titans in Tennessee on Sunday, September 10 (a game I will be reporting from with photojournalist Dave Smith).
Oakland is coming off a 12-4 season and a playoff appearance that likely would have gone longer than an opening loss to the Texans in Houston if quarterback Derek Carr had not suffered a broken leg in Week 16. Carr is back and the Raiders offense should be one of the most potent attacks in professional football.
The Raiders issues will likely come on defense, and that’s where any roster alterations will likely take place. But for now here are the 53 men that earned the right to wear the Silver & Black in 2017:
OFFENSIVE LINE (10): Rodney Hudson, Gabe Jackson, Jylan Ware, Kelechi Osemele, David Sharpe, Donald Penn, Marshall Newhouse, Vadal Alexander, Jon Feliciano, Denver Kirkland
QUARTERBACKS (3): Derek Carr, EJ Manuel, Connor Cook
RUNNING BACKS (4): Marshawn Lynch, Jalen Richard, DeAndre Washington, Jamize Olawale
RECEIVERS (5): Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree, Cordarrelle Patterson, Seth Roberts, Johnny Holton
TIGHT ENDS (3): Jared Cook, Clive Walford, Lee Smith
DEFENSIVE LINE (9): Khalil Mack, Darius Latham, Justin Ellis, Treyvon Hester, Eddie Vanderdoes, Jihad Ward, Denico Autry, Mario Edwards Jr., James Cowser
LINEBACKERS (5): Nicholas Morrow, Bruce Irvin, Marquel Lee, Cory James, Tyrell Adams
CORNERBACKS (6): Sean Smith, Gareon Conley, Dexter McDonald, Antonio Hamilton, TJ Carrie, David Amerson
SAFETIES (5): Obi Melifonwu, Shalom Luani, Reggie Nelson, Karl Joseph, Keith McGill
PUNTER (1): Marquette King
LONG SNAPPER (1): Jon Condo
KICKER (1): Sebastian Janikowski
