A majority of the players you see on Sundays in the NFL are undrafted free agents. These are players to have won jobs in training camp and have fought to keep their spot on the 53-man roster.
So who could be the next undrafted free agent to make the roster for the Raiders? In a recent article by Maurice Moton of Bleacher Report, he named one undrafted free agent that could make every team’s 53-man roster. For the Raiders, that was none other than former Arizona State star Darien Butler.
Here is what Moton had to say about the possibility of Butler making the roster at the linebacker position this year:
“Before his 2021 term at Arizona State, Butler shed 15 pounds and had his most productive year, registering 68 tackles, 8.5 for loss, two sacks, three interceptions and three pass breakups.
This summer, he’ll play under linebackers coach Antonio Pierce, who served as his defensive coordinator last year, which bodes well for the rookie’s early development.
In the Raiders’ first padded practice, Butler took reps with the starters and made his presence felt with a big hit.”
The Raiders lost two veteran linebackers to injury this week including Micah Kiser and Kyler Fackrell. Both were near-locks to make the 53-man roster. That now gives Butler an opening to a job and he’s taken advantage of every practice rep so far.
Butler should see the field a ton during the Hall of Fame game on Thursday. With a big performance, he can cement his spot on the 53-man roster for the Raiders.