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New Las Vegas Raiders DL Bralen Trice.
The Las Vegas Raiders‘ defense has been a huge disappointment this season after the team spent big money to upgrade it. They have allowed 30 or more points in each of the last four games.
The defensive line has played very poorly. They aren’t stopping the run, nor are they getting after the passer consistently. The Raiders aren’t likely to swing a big trade, so they decided to take a chance on a young player with some upside.
Las Vegas announced that they have signed defensive end Bralen Trice to the practice squad.
Trice came into the NFL in 2024 as a third-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons. He was an All-Pac-12 player at Washington, so there was excitement that he could be an impact player.
Unfortunately, his first two seasons were completely derailed by injuries. He tore his ACL in his first preseason game, and when he tried to return the following season, he aggravated the injury.
Trice didn’t play his first game until this season. The Falcons gave him four games, but decided to move on. If Trice’s knee can hold up, it’s possible that he could be a sneaky good signing, but he’s essentially a rookie. The Raiders’ defensive line needs help, so there could be opportunity.
Maxx Crosby Hoping to Find Solutions
After a strong start to the season, the Raiders’ defense hasn’t done anything right. Even star defensive end Maxx Crosby hasn’t been making an impact.
The Raiders weren’t expected to be an elite defense, but they added enough talent to at least be competitive. Crosby is hoping that they can figure out how to fix things quickly.
“You just got to keep finding ways to get better,” Crosby told reporters after the Rams loss. “We’re not playing good enough right now—too many ups and downs, starting slow in the second half for the last couple of weeks. We got to find solutions fast; we have another opportunity against the Jets. We all got to look in the mirror and be better.”
Raiders Need to Stop the Run
The run game is what’s killing the Raiders on offense and defense. Crosby prides himself as an elite run defender, but there’s only so much he can do.
The Raiders aren’t going to beat many teams if they’re getting killed in the run game. Crosby wants to go back to the drawing board to figure out how to fix things.
“We just didn’t get into any situation to help ourselves; we started slow,” Crosby said. “We wanted to start fast, but they played with the lead the whole time. They had almost zero drop-back passes, and we wanted to rush them, but we didn’t get many opportunities.
“But it starts with us, so we have to be able to stop the run. I have to watch the film, but overall, it wasn’t good enough at all. We couldn’t stop the run, and it’s really disappointing. We have to learn from it and get better from it real fast.”
Austin Boyd has covered the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Lakers for Heavy.com since 2019. A Los Angeles native now based in Las Vegas, his featured work at Heavy includes interviews with NFL stars Darren Waller and Joe Montana, and a behind-the-scenes look at “The Shop.” More about Austin Boyd