The Las Vegas Raiders are starting to deal with some injury concerns following a strong offseason. Due to a knee injury, Tyree Wilson had to exit the Week 1 game against the Los Angeles Chargers early. Defensive end Malcolm Koonce has already been placed on Injured Reserve.
According to an NFL insider Jordan Schultz’s September 10 X post, the Raiders have chosen to sign K’Lavon Chaisson as a defensive end depth player.
The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Chaisson in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Having only 5.0 sacks in four seasons, he was unable to have much of an influence on the club. This offseason, he went on to the Carolina Panthers, but he was cut before the season ever got underway.
Chaisson has played outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme for the most of his career, but the Raiders will probably expect him to play more defensive end. There won’t be much of a pass rush from him. He only has 9.5 sacks in three seasons in college. Despite being a first-round pick due to his exceptional athleticism, he has failed to translate into a productive NFL player. There must be some unrealized potential there, the Raiders must be thinking.
Have the Las Vegas Raiders finished playing the DE?
It’s hard to understand how Chaisson makes a difference for the Raiders given his career stats. Only 11 games in four seasons were he started by the Jaguars, and he has never had a Pro Football Focus grade of higher than 60.0.
Chaisson may not have much of an effect right away, but he still has room to grow as he is only 25 years old. The Raiders might want to think about signing another defensive end if Wilson is joining Koonce on the injured reserve. Being a far more effective pass rusher, Yannick Ngakoue is still a free agent. In 2021, he led Las Vegas with 10.0 sacks.
There are also veterans like Shaq Lawson and Charles Harris available. In order to contend for a postseason berth this year, the Raiders will require a strong defensive effort, which will be challenging if Maxx Crosby is the only guy offering a reliable pass rush.
Antonio Pierce Discusses the First Week’s Gains
The Raiders had a difficult first week, falling to the Chargers 22–10. It wasn’t all bad news, either. Antonio Pierce, the head coach, called attention to a few positive developments from the season’s first game.
“To begin with, defensively, I will say that we moved quickly out of the gates,” Pierce stated at his press conference on September 9. Just the way we desired. Patrick made a strong call on the game.
“We succeeded in our endeavor. We exerted pressure, hit the quarterback, and affected the quarterback. We had excellent red zone defense and were quite effective on third downs. 85 yards of run defense in the first half. It was the kind of game we wanted to be playing. You are aware of half-court attack and full-court defense. I believe we made some plays here, special teams. We performed admirably on number 12. I believed we had him pinned back. You know, offensively, we’ll execute a spectacular play, then there will be a drawback. You want to start the run game, to be honest, man. Late in ball games, the ability to run the ball is crucial.
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