How the 2018 Raiders were built: Well over half the team and starters arrived this offseason There’s turnover and then there’s what has
happened to the Raiders this offseason. They went 6-10 last season
Oakland Raiders Hoodie , but with as many new players as Jon Gruden has brought in, you’d have a hard time believing they’re just a season removed from being a 12-4
playoff team.As we approach the start of the 2018 season, here is how the
Raiders squad was built:Count ‘em up. That’s 29 of the Raiders current 53-man
roster who weren’t here before this year. Well over half the team.That leaves 24
holdovers. There were 27 former Raiders draft picks alone on this team when Jon
Gruden was hired. Now there are just ten, and only two from the 2017 draft —
Gareon Conley and Marquel Lee.Of those 29 newbies, 14 are either starters on
offense or defense or the primary position holder on special teams. That’s
nearly half the starters and every single special teams position holder (kicker,
punter, long snapper, kick/punt returner). There are only 9 positions which will
have the same starter as last year according to the first depth chart — QB Derek
Carr, RB Marshawn Lynch, WR Amari Cooper
Customized Oakland Raiders Jerseys , TE Jared Cook, LG Kelechi Osemele, C Rodney Hudson, RG Gabe Jackson, DT Justin Ellis, and S Karl Joseph.Follow @LeviDamien
Injured punter Marquette King missed another practice Friday and the Denver
Broncos were considering promoting new practice squader Colby Wadman to take his
place this weekend against the New York Jets ."I'm very comfortable with him, if
he has to go," said coach Vance Joseph.That confidence was echoed by kicker
Brandon McManus and special teams coordinator Tom McMahon after King was listed
as doubtful for Sunday.Joseph will meet with general manager John Elway to
decide who to cut if the Broncos promote Wadman.Asked if that might be King, who
signed a three-year, $7 million deal in Denver after his ouster from Oakland
this offseason
www.raidersfootballauthentics.com , Joseph said, "Well, anything's possible.""We're trying to win a football game
and we've got to have a punter, obviously. So, we'll see. I'll get with John and
we'll decide it," Joseph said.The Broncos brought in Wadman, a rookie from UC
Davis, last week to push King after a poor punting performance at Baltimore.King
had another bad outing Monday night against Kansas City, however, when his
35-yard punt to the Kansas City 40-yard line in the closing minutes set up the
Chiefs' winning touchdown drive in a 27-23 game at Mile High Stadium.King came
out of that game with a groin/right thigh injury and Wadman got all the work
during the week.McMahon said he had "very high confidence" in Wadman's punting
abilities
Oakland Raiders T-Shirt , and McManus said he was equally confident in Wadman as his holder."Who knows what's going to happen if Marquette plays or
not. But I've had enough holds with Colby to feel confident with him," McManus
said.Wadman's college eligibility expired in 2016, and he gave himself three
years to become a pro punter, working odd jobs in between workouts.Wadman said
he was about to start a temp job working for his mother's boss helping out at an
accounting firm in Thousand Oaks, California, when the Broncos called last
week."I'm just staying ready," Wadman said. "Obviously, I haven't kicked in two
years, but being out here in practice, working out with the team
Oakland Raiders Hats , they're all telling me how much they believe in me. They have confidence in me. If I do end up getting the call, I feel ready for it."The
Broncos will play at MetLife, the biggest stadium in the NFL with a capacity of
82,500, but that doesn't faze Wadman."We played at Oregon my senior year. Pretty
decent size, obviously," Wadman said of Autzen Stadium in Eugene which has a
capacity of 54,000. "Size of the stadium doesn't mean a thing to me. I'm just
kicking, no matter where I'm at."
