The right tackle spot has been a puzzle that the Las Vegas Raiders have had a very hard time solving for years. Even when the offensive line was elite in 2015 and 2016, right tackle was the one weak link.
When Jon Gruden was head coach, he wanted to find a real solution at the position, so he gave Trent Brown a four-year, $66 million contract. When healthy, Brown was a Pro Bowl-level player for the Raiders, but he was rarely healthy.
That’s been the problem for him throughout his whole career. He’s played more than 11 games in a season in three of his 10 years in the NFL.
This season, he’s been on the Houston Texans‘ practice squad and hasn’t played any games. That’s going to change, as the Texans have decided to sign him to the active roster.
The Texans desperately need offensive line help, but it’s hard to rely on Brown. He could only suit up for three games for the Cincinnati Bengals last season. There’s a chance he could help the team for a few games, but he’s a difficult player to rely on. CJ Stroud is among the most-sacked quarterbacks in the NFL right now, so the Texans have to try something.
Chip Kelly Talks Kolton Miller Loss
The Raiders are dealing with a lot of injuries right now, but the most significant was left tackle Kolton Miller getting sent to the Injured Reserve with a hairline fracture in his foot. Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly had a chance to talk about how significant a loss that is.
“Yeah, I mean, Kolton [Miller] was having a tremendous year,” Kelly told reporters Thursday. “I think you look at some of the metrics and he was top one, two or three tackle in the league in terms of his production and what he had done so far. So anytime you lose a frontline starter, no matter who it is, not having Mike [Michael Mayer] last week at tight end changes what you do. But losing Kolton, we feel really confident in Stone [Forsythe].
“I think he’s had a good week of training. We still have, obviously, today and tomorrow morning to go, but you have got to make some adjustments when you lose a guy of that nature. Everybody’s got to kind of pull their weight a little bit and help Stone out a little bit. And make sure we’re aware because they do have two really good edge rushers, Laiatu [Latu] and Kwity Paye. And so, those guys had our attention before the game and before Kolton was out. So, they’re going to have our attention even more now that Kolton is out of there.”
Can Raiders Overcome Miller’s Injury?
The Raiders‘ offensive line was already struggling, but Miller has been a consistent presence for years. He’s easily their best offensive lineman. While the Raiders seem to feel good about Forsythe taking over, he’s a player who has struggled a lot in his career.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if rookie Charles Grant eventually steps in. Unless he’s a stud as a rookie, the Raiders could be in big trouble when it comes to the offensive line.
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