Raiders DT Justin Ellis To Return To Practice
Justin Ellis is (almost) back. Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the Raiders nose tackle is set to return to practice next week. The writer implies that the team will ultimately activate Ellis from the injured reserve once he’s ready to go.
It’s a lost season for the Raiders, but the team will surely appreciate the reinforcement along the defensive line. Ellis originally suffered a foot injury during Oakland’s season-opener against the Rams, and the team subsequently placed him on the injured reserve. It was expected that the 27-year-old would return to practice in late October, but the defensive tackle apparently needed some extra time to recover.
The Raiders’ new regime will certainly want to see what they have in Ellis, especially after he inked a three-year, $15MM extension with the team during the offseason. Pro Football Focus graded him as one of the league’s better run stopping tackles last year, and he finished the 2017 campaign with 48 tackles and 0.5 sacks in 16 games (14 starts).
Ellis is one of three Raiders defensive tackles currently sitting on the injured reserve (along with Eddie Vanderdoes and Ahtyba Rubin). When he’s ultimately activated from the IR, he’ll be joining a healthy grouping that includes P.J. Hall, Maurice Hurst, Johnathan Hankins, and Clinton McDonald.
Raiders Veteran Expresses Displeasure
- Veteran edge defender Tank Carradine worked out for the Cowboys today, but Dallas doesn’t have any plans to sign the free agent, reports Todd Archer of ESPN.com. The Cowboys currently have five defensive linemen on their injury report, so they could be shorthanded when they face the Falcons on Sunday. Carradine, for his part, signed with the Raiders in the spring but was cut in early October after playing limited snaps. He’s worked out for four clubs since, but the 28-year-old — who appeared in 44 games with the 49ers from 2014-17 — has yet to find a new home.
- Thing aren’t going well in Oakland, where the Raiders have posted a 1-8 record under head coach Jon Gruden, and the stress of a dismal 2018 campaign seemed to boil over following Sunday’s loss to the Chargers. “I gotta get the (expletive) outta here,” one anonymous veteran said in full view of reporters, per Matt Schneidman of the Mercury News. Per Football Outsiders, the Raiders have a 54.5% chance of securing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft and a 95% chance of receiving a top-five selection.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/14/18
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: CB Leonard Johnson
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: LB Tre’Von Johnson
New England Patriots
- Signed: LB Ramon Humber
Oakland Raiders
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Saeed Blacknall
Washington Redskins
- Waived: CB Joshua Holsey
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/14/18
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: OL Rick Leonard
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: RB Tyler Ervin
- Released: DB Makinton Dorleant
Detroit Lions
- Signed: DB David Jones
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: OL Rees Odhiambo
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: WR Rashard Davis, WR ArDarius Stewart
Washington Redskins
NFL Reinstates Jalen Collins, Darius Latham
The NFL has reinstated former Falcons cornerback Jalen Collins and former Raiders defensive tackle Darius Latham, the league announced. Both of their suspensions wrapped up on Tuesday, clearing the free agents to sign with an NFL team. 
Collins, a former second-round pick, flashed potential in his time with Atlanta. Unfortunately, multiple suspensions have derailed his career, including his most recent 10-game ban. Collins started eight games for the Falcons and played in 24. He also started all three of Atlanta’s games in the 2016 playoffs, including Super Bowl LI.
If not for his red flags, the 25-year-old likely would have been a first-round choice in 2015. He also might be a starting cornerback in Atlanta today.
Latham made a bigger impression for the 2016 Raiders, playing in 14 games and starting two, than he did last season. Thanks in part to his four-game suspension, Latham ended up playing in just three contests last year. He made 17 tackles as a rookie and has yet to record a sack. This year, the Raiders cut him just before Day 1 of the draft.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/13/18
Here are Tuesday’s practice squad decisions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Cut: WR Montay Crockett
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: CB Denzel Rice
Denver Broncos
- Signed: WR Chad Hansen
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: WR Steve Ishmael, DE Anthony Winbush
- Released: OT De’Ondre Wesley
Oakland Raiders
- Cut: DE James Cowser
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: TE Will Tye
- Cut: TE Billy Brown
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: RB Ralph Webb
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: CB Mike Jordan
NFL Workout Updates: 11/13/18
Here’s the latest from the workout circuit. All links go to NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account, unless otherwise noted.
Arizona Cardinals
- LB Thurston Armbrister, LB Terence Garvin, CB Leonard Johnson, T Rick Leonard, S Dexter McCoil, DT Tyrunn Walker (link)
Detroit Lions
- LB Azeem Victor (link)
Indianapolis Colts
- TE Kivon Cartwright, TE Je’Ron Hamm, TE Nick Keizer, CB Reggie Porter, LB Anthony Winbush (link)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- DE Geneo Grissom, DT David Parry, DT Elijah Qualls, T Menelik Watson (Twitter link via Sirius XM Radio’s Adam Caplan)
New Orleans Saints
- DT Michael Bennett, DT Sealver Siliga, DE Phil Taylor, DL Jerel Worthy (link)
New York Jets
- WR Tanner McEvoy, LB Corey Nelson, DE Marcus Smith, DL Destiny Vaeao, TE Hakeem Valles (link)
Oakland Raiders
- S Afolabi Aguda, WR Rashard Davis, WR Josh Huff, WR Charles Johnson, P Drew Kaser, S Tray Matthews, S Stephen Roberts, QB Alek Torgersen, WR Griff Whalen, S J.J. Wilcox (link)
Tennessee Titans
- WR Daniel Braverman, WR Quan Bray, OLB/DE Kasim Edebali, DE Terrence Fede, CB Dontae Johnson, CB Mike Jordan, CB Ashton Lampkin, CB Jeremiah McKinnon, OLB/DE Nate Orchard, QB Nic Shimonek, WR ArDarius Stewart, TE Tyrone Swoopes, LB John Timu, RB Charcandrick West (link)
Raiders Waive DE Kony Ealy
Kony Ealy‘s Oakland stay did not last long. Signed to start last week, the veteran defensive end is now off the team after the Raiders made the decision to waive him Tuesday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
Ealy was a healthy scratch against the Chargers. Unlike when the Cowboys cut him earlier this year, he’ll head to waivers. The former Panthers second-round pick played in at least 15 games in each of his first four seasons; he’s yet to see action in 2018.
The Raiders have signed numerous outside free agents this season. Many have not worked out. The team has, however, given significant playing time to rookies P.J. Hall, Arden Key and Maurice Hurst, which makes sense in what quickly became a rebuilding year. Ealy, though, joined Johnathan Hankins and Clinton McDonald as in-season D-line additions.
Ealy spent three seasons with the Panthers and last year with the Jets. But over the past 15 months, the Patriots, Cowboys and now Raiders have cut him.
Raiders’ Eddie Vanderdoes To Finish Year On IR
Eddie Vanderdoes won’t suit up for the Raiders this year after all. The Raiders hoped to activate the defensive tackle from the PUP list, but will not be cleared before the expiration of the three-week window, coach Jon Gruden told reporters. 
[RELATED: Raiders Owner On Mack Trade, Gruden]
Vanderdoes, the 88th overall selection in the 2017 draft, fell to the Raiders largely because of his injury history. The UCLA product tore his ACL in the 2015 season opener, but kept himself on the NFL radar with his clean technique, including quick hands and consistently low pad level.
Vanderdoes started 13 of his 16 games as a rookie and finished out with 18 total tackles. Unfortunately, he’ll have to wait until next year to see the field again and reassert himself at the pro level.
The 1-8 Raiders now have three defensive tackles on IR in Vanderdoes, Ahtyba Rubin, and Justin Ellis.
Raiders Owner On Mack Trade, Gruden
Raiders owner Mark Davis is taking responsibility for the team’s 1-8 start, even though many are pointing fingers at head coach Jon Gruden. 
“I always look in the mirror, and the buck stops with me,” Davis told ESPN.com’s Paul Gutierrez. “Where this team is right now is my fault. We haven’t been able to build a 22-man roster. We haven’t been able to give this team a chance to win because the reconstruction failed. We failed from 2014 on to have a roster right now.”
Over the course of a 45-minute interview, Davis discussed Gruden, GM Reggie McKenzie, the team’s widely panned trade of defensive star Khalil Mack, and much more. Here’s a look at the highlights:
On Gruden’s role in the Mack trade:
Jon wanted him. Everybody thinks that Jon’s the one who wanted to get rid of him. Jon wanted him badly. Why wouldn’t you want this guy? Reggie wanted him badly. And I wanted him badly, too. But, if in fact we were going to give the type of money that we were going to give to him, and we had Derek on that type of a (contract), how were we going to go ahead and build this football team, with all the holes that we had?
On what prompted the team to send Mack to the Bears:
My thought was, “Listen, he signed a five-year contract, if he’s the type of guy that I think he is, he’s going to honor that contract.” And he’s going to come in and play for the $13MM for this year and then we’ll work for him during the year and get it. Word came back through certain players that know him and talk to him and know me as well, that he wasn’t going to come in. He was going to do the Le’Veon Bell (holdout). At that point, I said, F’ it. The guy hasn’t talked to anybody. We’ve got to do something.
On Mack’s agent, Joel Segal:
It might not have been the right decision, but the other point to this whole thing is that Segal is also the agent for Amari Cooper. And we knew the same situation was coming up the next year. It wasn’t just one layer of chess; it was two layers of chess. But to blame Jon, for Khalil Mack not being here, is absolutely not the truth. It was a decision that was made and it wasn’t made easily … I don’t have any bad feelings toward (Mack). I wish he would have talked to Jon and Reggie and wanted to at least honor the fifth year of his contract.
On the future of quarterback Derek Carr:
Derek is taking a lot of s— right now. He is the franchise quarterback right now. He doesn’t have Amari Cooper. He lost (Martavis) Bryant to a knee injury today. Guys have been getting hurt. Who’s he throwing to? Jordy Nelson and Seth Roberts, which are good guys. But they’re not putting the fear of God in anybody. The tight end (Jared Cook) is playing his ass off. You look at the quarterback and he’s playing behind a battered offensive line … so I don’t know what you can put on Derek and I don’t think it’s fair to put all the blame on him.
On McKenzie’s future:
Reggie and I need to sit down and talk and figure out how we are going to go about the future. We’ve got to look in the mirror and figure out, where the hell did we go wrong in trying to build this thing? We failed. I have failed. But at the same time, we wouldn’t have been in the great position we were in without Reggie McKenzie being here.