The Las Vegas Raiders may not have a starting spot for Laki Tasi this season, but the enormous Australian’s upside too big of a factor for him to end up cut.
Tasi, who was signed as a defensive tackle but was moved to the offensive line back in May, was predicted to make the Raiders’ 53-man roster, according to beat writer Tashan Reed of The Athletic.
Reed predicted the Raiders’ entire final roster ahead of the mandatory roster cutdown deadline Tuesday. Tasi, who is 6-6 and checks in on the scale at 373 pounds, is just 21 years old — he’ll turn 22 on Oct. 24 — and has come to the Raiders as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway aimed at opening the sport to international players.
Why Would The Raiders Keep Laki Tasi?
From a financial perspective, there’s almost no risk of Las Vegas cutting Tasi. He is an undrafted free agent with a non-guaranteed contract, and the Raiders have no guaranteed money tied up in him.
But the downside could come since training-camp cuts are required to go through waivers before even being designated for the practice squad. With his enormous size, Reed spelled out why the Raiders could decide to hang on to Tasi, since there isn’t much down side to holding his rights either.
“The Raiders could risk Tasi getting claimed on waivers, but I just donât think itâs worth it,” Reed wrote. “While he wonât be ready to play this year, his size, length, strength, athleticism and fluid movement skills give him a lot of upside.”
Tasi was playing third-team reps in training camp, since he is going through a stark learning curve from Australia to the NFL. Still, ESPN.com’s Ryan McFadden wrote a feature on Tasi earlier this month, and he spelled out the many ways the Raiders could retain his rights while he learns.
“Tasi has received third-team reps during training camp, playing behind starter Jackson Powers-Johnson and backups Caleb Rogers and Atonio Mafi,” McFadden wrote. “The Raiders, however, could sign Tasi to the 17th practice squad roster spot reserved for international athletes across any of the 32 teams if he does not make the roster.”
What Have The Raiders Said About Laki Tasi?
Tasi is an inspiration to just about every person in the Raiders organization. He has lost 80 pounds while playing rugby and has developed his knowledge of football — a sport he knew nothing about until only a few months ago.
“Most of us played football when we were 10 years old,” Raiders coach Pete Carroll told ESPN.com. “He started a couple of months ago, and so it was exciting to see him do something and have fun out there.
“It’s a real treasure just to watch him develop.”
Tasi’s self-proclaimed knowledge of the sport went from a 2 to a 7 in the time he’s been playing, which is great to see according to center Jordan Meredith, with whom Tasi has played alongside.
“You always want a big guy to be able to play the sport,” Meredith told ESPN.com. “You see them all the time, and you’re like, ‘That guy needs to play football in high school.’ So for him to come in and slowly start to get that strength and put it towards football, it’s pretty cool seeing that.”
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