Coming into camp late usually makes for a real long shot scenario. Terrell Edmunds has been on the Raiders for all of ten days. And heading into last Saturday’s preseason game, he had just three days of practices under his belt.

That didn’t stop Pete Carroll from throwing him into the fire. On the second drive of the game, in came Edmunds to the game. Edmunds’ performance was a mixed bag, which is better than you’d expect for how little time as he had with the team.

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“He brings you the sense of the experience,” Pete Carroll said of Edmunds’ performance. “I mean, you can see when you watch his film, and he’s done tons of stuff. He’s done all of the stuff at the line of scrimmage, on the deep end coverage wise, blitz wise, and so he brings that to us, and he’s got a level of confidence that’s obvious. It’s a great pickup for us, and he’s right in the middle of everything, right in the middle of competing for snaps and all that.”

The former first round pick had bounced around to four different teams over the past couple seasons, so clearly finding the right team is important for him. It just took until the injury to Lonnie Johnson Jr for that opportunity to arise.

Raiders linebacker Elandon Roberts played with him in Pittsburgh last season and he thinks this is the right team for Edmunds.

“When we signed him, I was just like, ‘Man, this is going to be great,’” said Roberts. “And I remember when he walked in, I was like, ‘Hey, this defense fits you. I hope that you’re able to get your opportunity to take advantage of it.”

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Lonnie Johnson Jr was to be a rotational starting safety for the Raiders. He broke his fibula in the team’s preseason opener. With his exit, it was third-year man Chris Smith II who was taking his role in the defense. But Carroll is all about competition, so rather than settle for what he had available, he added Edmunds to the mix.

Johnson figures to be placed on IR at the roster cutdown which would mean he misses at least the first four games of the season. If Edmunds can show enough in practices this week and the final preseason game, he could not only make this team, but be a starter on this team.

This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Terrell Edmunds has real shot to not just make Raiders roster but start