Training camp in Henderson is in full swing, and there have been many stories as a result. As a team, the Las Vegas Raiders have been very impressive, with statement wins against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Minnesota Vikings en route to a 2-0 record. With two wins, there have obviously been many players who have had outstanding performances. With that in mind, some players have been passed by as a result. Here are three players who have struggled up to now in training camp, and some have been cut, furthering their disappointing run.
Who’s disappointed so far for the Las Vegas Raiders?
Amik Robertson
Amik hasn’t had a completely bad training camp, but he didn’t do himself any favors on Sunday. Robertson didn’t play in the Hall of Fame Game, but in Week 2 he allowed two catches on three targets for 32 yards while also committing a holding penalty.
Robertson is still developing, and to be fair to him, that is also a small sample size. Unfortunately, Robertson struggled a lot last season, and because of his poor play in his limited reps, he hasn’t really shown any improvement in live action. Again, most reports regarding Amik this year have been encouraging, so he has that going for him. Still, he has yet to impress during games so far.
Alex Leatherwood
Like Robertson, Leatherwood hasn’t necessarily been bad throughout training camp and the Raiders’ first two matchups. Against the Vikings, Leatherwood didn’t struggle, allowing one pressure on 14 pass-blocking snaps. What’s discouraging about his play is that he didn’t do especially well at run-blocking, and most of his reps came late in the game with second and third-string players next to him.
Leatherwood came into camp expecting to sustain a starting spot at either guard or tackle. Yet last Sunday, Leatherwood didn’t get any action with the first stringers and played until the end of the game with players around him whose main goal was just to gain a spot on the 53-man roster. That’s not encouraging and playing Leatherwood with the backups doesn’t seem like something the coaching staff would do if they valued Alex as a starting-caliber player.
Vernon Butler
Butler plays a position with a lot of significance to this roster: defensive tackle. Unfortunately, that position is significant for poor reasons, as the Raiders have been dealing with injuries and a lack of depth in general. Butler was picked up this offseason to help solve that very issue, but regrettably, he didn’t do enough to hold onto a roster spot.
The Raiders have released veteran DT Vernon Butler and WR DeMarcus Robinson.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) August 16, 2022
Butler had a quiet performance in the Hall of Fame Game, with just one tackle and one pressure against the Jaguars. He followed that up with another quiet performance against Minnesota, with an empty stat sheet. He was present as the Vikings averaged 5.2 yards per carry throughout the game as well, as the defense in general struggled to stop the run. Butler has a lot of talent but just didn’t make a noticeable impact, at least not a big enough one to stay with the Raiders. He must perform better, though, if he hopes to land on a team by Week 1.
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*Top Photo: Heidi Fang/Las Vegas Review-Journal