Offensive line improves in preseason finale but Leatherwood’s fate looms

By Case Keefer (contact)

Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022 | 2 a.m.

For the fourth time in four preseason games, the Raiders trotted out a different combination of starting offensive linemen Friday night at Allegiant Stadium.

The good news for Raiders' fans is, the latest starting five — left tackle Jackson Barton, left guard John Simpson, center Andre James, right guard Lester Cotton and right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor — looked like the best one yet in a 23-6 victory over the Patriots. In four possessions to start the game, the line paved the way for two trips to the red zone and a total of 13 points.

“I felt like we took big strides coming together, seeing what issues we had and just fixing it,” Barton said.

The bad news is, the same problems that have plagued the rest of the Raiders' preseason persisted when tackle Alex Leatherwood was substituted in starting at the end of the second quarter. Coming into the season, it looked certain that the Raiders needed to get more out of last year’s first-round draft pick to be at their best on the offensive line.

After more than a month of training camp practices and preseason games, it’s now safe to conclusively say that hasn't happened and likely never will. Multiple reports indicate the Raiders are ready to move on from Leatherwood.

The former All-American at Alabama was given every chance to win the starting right tackle job going into the season, especially after two of his primary competitors — Brandon Parker and Thayer Munford — went down with injury. But he could never seize it.

It was telling that McDaniels started Barton, who hadn’t played with the first string all training camp, over Leatherwood to conclude the preseason. It was even more damning that the Raiders’ blocking seemed uncommonly strong when Barton was in with little to no miscues.

“I thought those guys held up well, Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said of the starting offensive line in his post-game news conference. “Gave us some time to throw the ball, which was good, made a couple plays in the passing game and finished a couple scoring drives.”

The progress halted as soon as Leatherwood checked in. On his first play, he was driven back by Patriots undrafted rookie free agent defensive tackle LaBryan Ray to contribute to a sack.

The issues continued for the rest of the night, prolonging a slide that’s played out consistently over the summer.

Leatherwood was one of the worst offensive linemen in the league last year, but rededicated himself in the offseason and came into training camp in noticeably better shape. He was solid, though unspectacular, in the Raiders’ preseason-opening win over the Jaguars in the Hall of Fame Game. The troubles started in the second preseason game against the Vikings but really picked up last week in Miami and then again versus New England.

Leatherwood looked a liability in both games, and that was against backups and players bound not to make regular-season rosters. Based on performance alone, Leatherwood looks like a cut candidate when the Raiders and the rest of the teams in the NFL are forced to trim their rosters from 80 to 53 next Tuesday.

But it’s not that simple as Leatherwood carries a $11.7 million dead cap figure, according to sportrac.com, as a former first-round pick.

“You’re not looking to cut anybody because, like I’ve said before, you’d love to keep them all,” McDaniels said of impending roster cuts. “The effort, attitude and work they all put in, I’m so appreciative of all that. Our staff has done a tremendous job developing these guys, and we’re going to keep as many as we can. Those are tough decisions, tough conversations. Our players understand that, but they didn’t lack for effort or execution and they are trying to do everything they can to help us and help themselves at the same time. I thought our group did that for the most part.”

The victory over the Patriots led the Raiders to the first 4-0 preseason record in franchise history. It just felt like most, if not all, of the wins came in spite of their offensive line.

In fairness, Las Vegas never played its best player in the trenches — left tackle Kolton Miller, letting him rest with his spot secure. McDaniels also stressed trying out several varied combinations, which kept any group from establishing a true rhythm beyond a few series.

But he curiously never tried Leatherwood at guard, a position switch last year’s coaching staff made when the then-rookie struggled at tackle. That could still be an option, though Las Vegas seems set on the interior of the line.

James and Cotton have taken virtually all the first-team snaps over the last few weeks, leaving left guard the only uncertain spot. Rookie Dylan Parham played with the starters more often in practice this week, though Simpson got the nod in the game.

Whichever of the two players competing for the role doesn’t start figures to be the primary backup for both guard spots. Miller and Eluemunor look locked in as the starting tackles.

Whether or not Barton makes the roster may depend on whether the team sticks with Leatherwood. Las Vegas may not want to cut him, but it would certainly appear to be open to a trade if one materialized.

Barton is trying not to overanalyze where he fits with the Raiders.

“It’s just fun for me, I love the fact that I got the opportunity to play out here tonight,” he said.

Leatherwood slipped out of the Raiders’ locker room before speaking to reporters after the win over the Patriots. A short amount of time will tell whether that’s the last time he’s ever seen suited up in silver and black.

“Football is a crazy sport, and anything can happen,” Barton said of all the offensive line ups and downs over the last month. “So, you’ve just got to be able to roll with the punches.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or