There hasn’t been a lot of controversy on the Raiders offensive line throughout this offseason. The starting five had been LT Kolton Miller, LG Dylan Parham, C Jackson Powers-Johnson, RG Alex Cappa, and RT DJ Glaze. Then a few days ago, the first stunner happened — Jordan Meredith began taking snaps with the first team at center.
Head coach Pete Carroll spoke highly of Meredith and why he has earned his first team reps. Whether that means Meredith continues to get those reps moving forward remains to be seen. But in the midst of all this, it would appear defensive tackle Adam Butler has made his feelings on the matter known. As much by that he said as what he didn’t say.
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The often outspoken Butler is a pretty cerebral player who has a tendency to say what he means and mean what he says without reservation. When he was asked about what excited him about the Raiders offensive line, his response may have gone unnoticed by some, but it certainly raised my eyebrow.
“I’m excited about Jordan Meredith,” Butler said. “I’m excited about JPJ for sure. I’m a real big fan of JPJ. That’s my guy. Strong, young player. He’s got that energy. I see him as an All Pro guard at some point. I don’t know if that’s now or later. I’m really excited about him. And if it’s ok with you, that’s all I’d like to comment on that at this time.”
Even knowing Butler’s penchant for speaking his mind and not mincing words, it’s still very possible he had a slip of speech there and meant to say center when speaking of JPJ. But it’s just as possible, if not more so that he said exactly what he meant to say. And if so, there’s a lot there for a few sentences.
Butler faced JPJ last season when he lined up at guard. Left guard in particular. And Butler’s experience makes him think JPJ can be an All Pro there. While the newly re-signed DT is also excited about Meredith at center.
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So, it sure sounds like he thinks the two should line up alongside each other instead of competing for the same position. And keep in mind that he didn’t mention either of the two current first team guards — Dylan Parham and Alex Cappa. The former was benched last season in favor of Meredith.
JPJ may end up winning (back) the starting center job, but Butler has his thoughts on how the interior line should look. and it’s based on his experience facing them every day in practice, so I’m inclined to not take his opinion lightly.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: DT Adam Butler gave pretty loaded statement on Raiders offensive line