Despite the fact that Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Isaiah Johnson was the hero of last Sunday’s matchup, he could soon be out.Â
No, not out of a job with the Raiders, but rather, he could see a drop in playing time. There’s a couple of reasons for this interesting development. First, Johnson is still developing and may not be ready for a starting job, not yet at least. The second reason is a positive one, and that’s the fact rookie Damon Arnette will soon be suiting up again.
Jonhson had quite a performance against the Chargers. He ended the contest with three solo tackles and had those two clutch passes defensed. As a whole, Johnson has had 80 snaps on defense this year, a number that went up once Arnette was sidelined. Keep in mind there’s still room for improvement with Johnson. He’s been targeted ten times and has given up six completions, totaling 71 yards and a touchdown.
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Raiders Coach Believes There’s Still Work To Be Done
Raiders head coach Jon Gruden seems to be leaning with regards to Johnson’s playing time. Arnette will be back soon enough and the coaching staff will most likely plug him back in the starting lineup. Whether Arnette is ready to pick up where he left off is another question entirely. All things considered, don’t forget he’s missed a lot of time.
With Johnson, Gruden’s happy with his performance but understands the second-year man needs to improve.
“He’s still a work in progress, but he is making progress. We’d like to get Amik Robertson some more snaps as well. Although Isaiah made a couple of plays at the end of the game there are still some things we need to clean up.”
Johnson will still get snaps this year and he certainly made a case for taking part in goal-line defenses, especially in fade routes against bigger receivers as Jerry McDonald of the Mercury News explained. The sophomore cornerback’s playing time on Sunday, if Arnette plays, could be an indicator of how he’ll be used moving forward.
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*Top Photo: Alex Gallardo/Associated Press