One of the Las Vegas Raiders’ biggest free-agent signings in 2020 was defensive end Carl Nassib. Nevertheless, he’s been quiet and fans haven’t heard much about him this past camp.
Going into the 2020 NFL season, the Raiders have one of the younger and more talented defensive lines. Maxx Crosby, Clelin Ferrell, Maliek Collins, and Arden Key have all made waves this offseason. Collins will be rejoining his mentor, Rod Marinelli, who became the Raiders defensive line coach. Key, close to becoming an afterthought, had a good training camp. Moreover, the LSU alumnus is ready to make a name for himself.
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How will Nassib fit in with the Raiders?
Despite having to talented sophomores in Crosby and Ferrell, Raiders brass brought in Nassib to solidify the line and rush the quarterback. For the most part, however, fans haven’t heard much about Nassib, good or bad, during camp coverage. Recently, Nassib spoke on his new team, teammates, and prospects for the season.
“I’ve been really impressed, they’ve all had a great camp. Arden, Max, and Clelin have really done a great job… I had a great time in Tampa, had great teammates. [I] got great teammates here, got head coaches. For me to be here in the inaugural season for the Raiders in the NFL, being my fifth year, coming from being a walk-on, every day I’m just pumped, very excited.”
Nassib will be joining a young and hungry group made up of his aforementioned teammates. He’s clearly excited about joining the Silver and Black’s ranks as the franchise prepares to usher in a new era in the desert.
Nassib will be playing his natural position
Also, Nassib weighed in on how he’ll be playing this year, a bit of a change from Tampa Bay last year.
“I’m really excited to be playing the position I feel like I’m meant to play, being a 4-3 end, having my hand in the dirt, so I had to make a lot of adjustments last year, going to outside linebacker. I don’t really feel like I needed to make many adjustments. This is what I want to play and it’s been great.”
It’s good to know that Nassib won’t have to worry about playing out of position for the Raiders. After all, the Silver and Black brought him in for one sole reason, to get to the quarterback.
The issue some fans have pointed is how will snaps be distributed and more importantly, what does Nassib’s addition mean for Ferrell? Will the Raiders rely on the sophomore defensive end to create pressure in the middle? Many questions remain unanswered and it’s too soon to predict what Nassib will bring to the table in 2020, luckily for Raider Nation, the season is just days away.
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*Top Photo: Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports