Lester Cotton joined the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted rookie from Alabama in 2019. Since then, Cotton has been waived four times, called up from the practice squad seven times and gotten on the field for five offensive snaps and seven special-teams plays in five NFL regular-season games.
But when the Las Vegas Raiders kick off their 2022 season on Sept. 11 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Cotton could be their right guard.
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On Saturday, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr put a spotlight on Cotton’s NFL journey during his training-camp press conference.
“I’m so proud of Lester,” Carr said. “He – how do I say it? – when he first came in, one of the first questions he asked me, he says – this was in Alameda – he says, ‘What do I need to do to be your starting guard?’ That’s what he asked me. And I was like, ‘What a question.’ And I said, ‘Man, just keep working your butt off.’ At the time, you can look back and see who we had there. That was going to be hard for him.
“But I told Lester when we were walking to our cars the other day, I said, ‘Lester, I’m so proud of you because through the cuts, through the re-signings, through the this, through the that, all this kind of new schemes, you have done nothing but put your head down. You’ve been in there with (strength and conditioning coach) A.J. Neibel, you’ve worked your butt off, and now you’re getting reps and all these kind of things.’ And I said, ‘You look good, man. You’re doing some good things.’
“And so, I don’t know where he’s at with everything like (offensive-line coach) Carm (Bricillo) would know or (coach) Josh (McDaniels) would know, but I can tell you just how proud of him I am. Hopefully, that says what I’m trying to say what I see about him, how much he’s come since when I first saw him.”
McDaniels took charge of the Raiders in January after working as the New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator.
“We’re going to try to play the best 11 guys on every snap,” McDaniels said last week. “It’s the right thing to do. It’s the best thing for the team. If we keep putting the best 11 out there regardless of how young, old, whatever, it doesn’t matter about that. If we put the best 11 out there, I think everybody respects the fact that we’re trying to win, so everybody’s going to get opportunities.”
In the offensive line, four-year starter Kolton Miller at left offensive tackle might be the only sure thing with Las Vegas preparing to start its preseason schedule on Thursday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Hall of Fame game.
Guards Denzelle Good and Richie Incognito retired this year. Although they combined to play only three games last season because of injuries, their loss took two candidates for playing time out of the Raiders’ offensive interior.
But Las Vegas isn’t short on linemen with starting experience. John Simpson at left guard and Andre James at center are returning starters. Former Alabama All-American Alex Leatherwood started every game as a rookie – four at right tackle, 13 at right guard. Brandon Parker got the right-tackle job when Leatherwood shifted inside.
Leatherwood appears to be pointed toward tackle again this season, and the Raiders also have versatile draft pick Dylan Parham from Memphis in the mix.
But McDaniels has taken note of Cotton.
“I wasn’t here with him, so I’ve heard different things obviously,” McDaniels said about the former Central-Tuscaloosa standout on Thursday. “But I’m using my experience and my exposure to him now to really form our evaluation and our opinions of everybody here. And Lester has just come in and put his head down. The Lester Cotton that I know from this offseason and now going into training camp, he just works hard. He’s been in condition. He’s gotten stronger. He did a tremendous job in our offseason program. He’s been vocal. He’s led by example and with his voice. He’s brought others along with him. And so he’s earning the opportunities that he’s getting, and again we’ll see where that goes.
“Lester knows that he’s competing just like everybody else is. But really excited for the growth that I’ve seen in him and the growth that I’ve heard from people that were with him before that is happening right in front of our eyes. Lester enjoyed yesterday. That’s his type of day. In pads, able to hit people, physical. Looking forward to seeing how this goes forward, but really pleased and excited for Lester.”
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.