Telesco, Raiders Are Trying to Build a Thorough Roster

Las Vegas Raiders general manager Tom Telesco has worked hard to build a strong roster. He continues to focus on building a deep and complete roster for the Silver and Black.

Feb 27, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Las Vegas Raiders general manager Tom Telesco on the SiriusXM radio set at the NFL Scouting Combine at Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Las Vegas Raiders are just days away from opening the season on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers.

As the Raiders prepare to face his former team, General Manager Tom Telesco said he is very excited about the team's direction after recently trimming the roster. The Raiders have figured out the starters at nearly every position on the depth chart. However, Telesco has focused on ensuring the team has talented, depth players, not just quality starters.

Telesco and the Raiders made one of the most significant moves of any team in free agency this offseason by signing defensive lineman Christian Wilkins. Still, some of Telesco's best work has been much quieter moves that he made. He has filled the roster with many reserve players who may not have much of a role this season but have the potential to play a more prominent role for the Raiders.

Telesco made moves on the cut-down day that kept the Raiders’ long-term future in mind, filling the back end of the roster with young, lesser-known players who could one day be valuable assets.

"Well, that's part of the evolution of NFL rosters is you kind of have to have that young group kind of keep coming along and developing, fully knowing that a lot of these guys aren't going to have big roles this year, but they may have a small role,” Telesco said. “And who knows, as we get later into the year when we get past Halloween and get towards Thanksgiving where they're not really rookies anymore, and they may take on a bigger role. 

“But it's really important, especially in a salary cap world, to have a good base of young players coming up through your system. This is just a starting point for this year's group of -- whatever it is, you said, nine or 10. It's just a starting point of where they are, not close to where the end point is, but this is where we are right now."

Telesco and the Raiders enter a pivotal season for many within the organization. The Raiders returned to the drawing board and improved many problems that plagued the team last season. The first game of the season will be the first chance to see how far the Raiders have come since the end of last season.

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