With the Raiders offensive line struggling this year, one of the biggest surprises (from the outside at least) has been the unwillingness of the coaching staff to turn to third-round rookie Caleb Rogers.
After Jackson Powers-Johnson went down in the middle of November, many thought Rogers was finally going to get his opportunity, but Rogers was a healthy inactive against the Cowboys after reportedly turning in an underwhelming week of practice.
Even after the Cowboys game, the Raiders’ coaching staff only gave Rogers 17 snaps against the Chargers before finally letting him play a full game against the Broncos on Sunday.
Facing a Denver pass rush that is regarded as one of the best in the league, Rogers responded by being the Raiders’ second-highest graded offensive lineman (Pro Football Focus) and gave up zero pressures on 39 pass snaps.
Considering how bad the Vegas offensive line has played this year, it seems like the decision to sit Rogers for 13 weeks was probably a mistake, and Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter shared an interesting comment about that dynamic on Monday.
“I thought Caleb Rogers in his second start was good,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast. “There are questions there and I want to say this. The person responsible for Caleb Rogers not playing earlier this year should take accountability for that.”
Carpenter doesn’t believe Rogers should have spent so much of the season on the bench and he seems to believe there is a singular person responsible.
Carpenter never clarified who he was talking about, but he has repeatedly hinted (in the last few weeks) that Pete Carroll and Chip Kelly were listening to their bosses with some of their more confusing personnel decisions.
It felt like that was the direction he was going with Monday’s comments, as well.
Whoever Carpenter was pointing the finger out, we’re going to have to wait to find out… but go ahead and offer your guesses in the comment section below.
x: @raidersbeat