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Raiders Rumors: 2021 1st-Round Pick Alex Leatherwood Potential Trade, Cut Candidate

Adam Wells

Former first-round pick Alex Leatherwood may not be a member of the Las Vegas Raiders when the regular season begins.

One league source told Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus there is at least "a possibility" that the Raiders would cut or trade Leatherwood before final rosters have to be set on Aug. 30.

The Raiders' new coaching staff, led by Josh McDaniels, has seemed to indicate they aren't particularly enamored with Leatherwood.

Vic Tafur of The Athletic noted early in training camp that Leatherwood was getting reps with the third-team offense.

"Alex Leatherwood, who was working with the third team Saturday, got some first-team reps at right tackle," Reed wrote on Aug. 1. "But that may have been because (Brandon) Parker was working at left tackle—just in case Kolton Miller gets injured at some point.”

Parker is currently dealing with an injury that the Raiders have been very quiet about, though Tashan Reed wrote on Aug. 18 that it is "significant but not season-ending."

In the same article, Reed noted Leatherwood "still doesn't look great" at right tackle even though he was looking better than he did in 2021. He primarily played right guard during his rookie season.

Despite being the No. 17 overall draft pick last year, Leatherwood's stock with the team is very much up in the air with McDaniels entering his first season with the club.

Per Ryan McCrystal of SharpFootballAnalysis.com, Leatherwood ranked last out of 33 qualified right guards in pressure rate allowed in 2021.

There's a lot of optimism in Las Vegas after the team made the playoffs last year and added Davante Adams to the offense during the offseason. But the offensive-line issues are a concern heading into the regular season.

Leatherwood could have some value in a potential trade for a team that believes in his potential. He's only 23 with three guaranteed years left on a rookie contract that pays him a total of $5.9 million in base salary.

   

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