The Las Vegas Raiders recently parted ways with linebacker Tanner Muse, marking another 2020 third-round pick that didn’t pan out. Both former quarterback Chris Simms and Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio recently lambasted the Silver and Black for ‘striking out’ on draft picks.
As far as Raider Nation’s concerned, Pro Football Talk’s takes have never been too endearing. This is especially true for Florio who’s always been highly critical of Jon Gruden and of course, Derek Carr. However, Simms and Florio did raise some concerns that shouldn’t be overlooked. Following Muse’s release, the Raiders have now parted ways with two out of their three third-round picks from 2020. No matter which way you want to look at it, it’s not a good look.
Muse, another Clemson product, was slated to bounce back this year after his rookie year ended prematurely due to injury. Lynn Bowden Jr., the famed ‘Joker,’ never played a down for the Raiders after being traded away to the Miami Dolphins. All that remains is Bryan Edwards who was always seen as the player with the biggest upside, hailed as a steal when he was drafted. To be fair, Simms did praise the Raiders for ‘cutting the chord‘ and moving on from a mistake. Instead of sticking it out just to ‘prove‘ they were right in selecting Muse, for example.Â
What direction are the Raiders going in?
Simms stated that it’s ‘hard to get a feel for the team‘ with the 2021 season just days away. Florio for his part mentioned that ‘they’re just spinning their wheels in mud.‘ Though he agreed with Simms’ take that moving on from Muse was the smart play if they weren’t comfortable with what they had. Hence, the Raiders picked up both Denzel Perryman and K.J. Wright to solidify their linebacker group.Â
Nevertheless, Florio and Simms agreed that whiffing on several draft picks compounded by the inability to field a defense, has left Mike Mayock on the hot seat.
Something that even the biggest Pro Football Talk detractors can agree on is that Gruden isn’t going anywhere. So, by process of elimination, if the Raiders don’t make playoffs, Mayock would be the odd man out. To say there’s a lot on the line for the Silver and Black in 2021 would be putting it lightly.
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*Top Photo: L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal