As the Raiders approached the trade deadline, they were reportedly trying hard to find a trade partner for safety Johnathan Abram. That never materialized, so a week later, they waived the former first round pick.
Today, the Packers officially claimed Abram off waivers, and thus taking over the remainder of his rookie contract which goes through the end of this season.
The Packers claimed former Raiders’ Johnathan Abram on waivers, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 9, 2022
The release of Abram was a bit of a surprise as most thought they would just finish out the season with him. Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels spoke Wednesday on why the team waived Abram.
“Those are always difficult decisions. I think we ultimately want to try to do what we think is best for us and then also for the player,” McDaniels said of cutting Abram. “His role was changing a little bit as we were going through the season. Tre’von [Moehrig] was playing more and we brought Isaiah [Pola-Mao] up to the roster as another young player. Those aren’t easy decisions. John’s done a lot for this organization obviously and wish him well. But just thought that this was you the right time. He’ll latch on with somebody else here and have an opportunity, and we’ll try to move forward here with our process.”
He was right about Abram latching on with another team. Though it wasn’t with a team that is currently looking at a playoff run either. The Packers are sitting at 3-6-1, just a shade better than the Raiders at 2-6.
Getting more time ahead of Abram lately has been veteran Duron Harmon.
Pola-Mao is an undrafted rookie out of USC. He has seen action in two games this season, playing exclusively on special teams.
