With starting right guard Jackson Powers-Johnson likely out for the season for the Las Vegas Raiders, it was expected that rookie third-round pick Caleb Rogers would get a chance to play in the Week 11 game against the Dallas Cowboys. Head coach Pete Carroll even hinted that he’d have an opportunity.
However, before the game, it was revealed that Rogers was listed as inactive. That was followed up with the news that starting center Jordan Meredith got moved to right guard, while backup guard Will Putnam made the start at center.
The Raiders’ offensive line got dominated by the Cowboys, so that decision looks very poor in hindsight. The team was 2-7 before the game, so many are wondering why the coaching staff isn’t putting in rookies and letting them develop.
Regarding Rogers, the Raiders were planning to play him in Week 11, but a poor showing at practice led to him being inactive, according to The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen.
“According to a source with the Raiders, the staff tried to start rookie guard Caleb Rogers initially but in practice but he struggled. Charles Grant is still too raw as of right now to play,” Nguyen wrote on X.
Carroll Explains OL Shuffling
Nobody is suggesting that Rogers would’ve been any better than what Meredith or Putnam, but he’s a rookie who needs reps. Even if he played poorly, at least the Raiders could say that they were developing a young player.
Instead, they had a terrible performance and weren’t able to develop a rookie in the process. Carroll explained what went into the decision-making.
“The competition during the time this week and what’s been happening the last two weeks, we’ve been looking at it. We tried (different) combinations. We looked at all of it and felt like that was the best way we could go,” Carroll said after Monday’s loss. “Jordan had a really solid season at guard last year, and he felt really comfortable moving. We tried Caleb, you guys were following that, and we looked at some different combinations, and this was the best way we thought to do it.”
Caroll Wants to Play Rookies When They’re Ready
In the past, Carroll has done great work with young players, but this season, he has seemed apprehensive to give rookies much of a role. That said, he does claim that he wants to get them on the field, but he just needs to see more from them.
“There is a lot of guys that did play last year on this team in the offense. It’s pretty much the same group up front. With the guys that are banged up, not so, but until this past week without Kolton, we have the guys that we’ve had,” Carroll said. “We’re hoping that they’re going to continue to grow and grow together. There’s some youth in there, and some inexperience that we’re dealing with and trying to figure out how to bring our guys along. We would love to see Caleb play, and we would love to see Charles [Grant] play, but it hasn’t happened that way. They’ve got to show it in practice and show us that they’re ready. We’re not ignoring it at all.”
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