The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have exceedingly impacted the NFL’s operations, in particular, on the field. The deadline for the opt-out list has passed and most teams lost contributors, the Las Vegas Raiders are no exception.Â
In the AFC West, the defending champions Kansas City Chiefs had some key contributors who decided not to play in 2020. For the Raiders, they’ve had some players opt-out but they luckily did not lose any stars or even starters for that matter.
The three players that opted out for the Silver Black were as follows:
DB D.J. Killings
DE Jeremiah Valoaga
LB Ukeme Eligwe
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Raiders Opt-Out Roundup
Killings is a 25-year-old cornerback who played collegiate ball at Central Florida, and was placed on the opt-out list on August 3. Valoaga joined the list on the third as well, he appeared in four games for the San Francisco 49ers last year. Finally, Eligwe was an outside linebacker that did not play in 2019, he last played the previous year for the New York Giants.
Despite the fact the Raiders lost three players, they were going to be mostly practice squad members. Regardless, no stars or starters opted out for the Raiders. Though there have been some scares with Maxx Crosby going on the injured reserve/COVID-19 list, the team remains largely unaffected.
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*Top Photo: Trevor Ruszkowski/USA Today Sports
