Not much has gone right for the Las Vegas Raiders this season, but the defense has been slightly better than expected. The team moved on from a lot of key players and decided against spending big to replace them.
The Raiders were really cheap in addressing their secondary, but that hasn’t led to major issues. Unfortunately, the team lost a starter during the Week 14 loss against the Denver Broncos. Kyu Blu Kelly had to be carted off the field, and it was revealed that he suffered a ruptured patella tendon.
His season is over, and the Raiders have officially placed him on Injured Reserve. Rookie Darien Porter will take over his snaps, but the team had to add some more depth.
Las Vegas announced that they have signed cornerback Chigozie Anusiem off of the Arizona Cardinals‘ practice squad.
Anusiem was an undrafted free agent out of Colorado State last year. He first signed with the Washington Commanders before playing a game for the Cleveland Browns. He has spent this season with the Cardinals, but hasn’t had a chance to play. The Raiders are signing him straight ot the active roster, so there’s a good chance he’ll play some snaps to finish the season.
Pete Carroll Calls Kelly Injury ‘Freak Accident’
Kelly has had an up-and-down season so far, but he did lead the Raiders with three interceptions. He was making the case that he deserved another chance next season, but he just got hit with some major bad luck, according to head coach Pete Carroll.
“He had a patellar tendon injury in the game. … We’ll see the severity of it and all, but that’s a difficult injury right off the bat, and we’ll see how it goes and see what has to take place to get them right,” Carroll told reporters Monday. “I’m not sure about that part of it yet, but that is what happened. You notice it was an open field, too. It was just a freak accident that shouldn’t happen. You didn’t see him buckle or anything. He just planted and sometimes that happens.”
Losing Kelly is ‘Significant,’ Says Carroll
The Raiders haven’t been turning the ball over, so losing Kelly is a blow even if he struggled in coverage. Carroll is very disappointed to lose him for the year.
“A significant loss because he’s been such a good story for us,” Carroll said. “He really came out of nowhere in camp and was kind of knocked around different positions and all that. … There was a point in there where you couldn’t ignore the fact that he was making things happen in practice and even in preseason, and you could just see it happening. And what showed up is his natural football ability, his natural instincts, because he’s a tackler, he’s an interceptor, he’s a playmaker, and he’s aggressive, and he’s smart, and all those things along with it. Given enough time, it didn’t matter who he was going against, he was showing that he needed a better look. … It took all of that offseason time and all the way through camp to get to that point, but that was the statement that I was making, that he deserved to get a chance. And I think he’s had an excellent season.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Raiders Poach CB From NFC Foe to Replace Injured Starter appeared first on Heavy Sports.