Raiders still won't commit to 3rd round rookie despite injuries at guard

Pete Carroll has been preaching competition from the moment he got here. But usually what that means is jobs are won or lost in practice. Apparently Carroll has decided to take that competition into the actual games.

Rookie guard Caleb Rogers not only got his first snaps Sunday against the Chargers, but he got the start, replacing the injured Jordan Meredith.

But that wasn't the end of it. Practice squad call up Atonio Mafi also got some time at right guard.

Mafi was a fifth round pick by the Patriots in 2023, but they gave up on him after one season. He appeared in three games in Indianapolis last season and they too didn't keep him around. So, now he's on his third team in three seasons with the Raiders. And apparently he is giving the Raiders third round rookie a run for his money.

This could say more about Rogers than it does Mafi considering Rogers was still not getting snaps when Jackson Powers-Johnson went on injured reserve. The team instead opted to bring in undrafted rookie Will Putnam at center and move Jordan Meredith to guard. If Rogers had shown anything at all worth exploring prior to that, you'd figure he would've been given a shot.

This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders still won't commit to 3rd round rookie despite injuries at guard