The Raiders‘ difficult stretch of drafting in the first round continued Tuesday as the organization decided to waive 2021 first-rounder Alex Leatherwood after just one season in Las Vegas, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Leatherwood, who was selected with the No. 17 pick in the 2021 draft out of Alabama, was widely considered to be a reach at the time. He struggled to carve out a place for himself on the Raiders’ offensive line, but still managed to start all 17 games during his rookie season.
However, his performance wasn’t enough for Las Vegas to hold onto him in 2022. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Raiders explored trading Leatherwood, but were unable to entice any of the other 31 teams with an offer.
The lack of a viable deal led Las Vegas to eat approximately $7.9 million against the salary cap by waiving Leatherwood ahead of the league’s deadline for final roster cuts on Tuesday.
Leatherwood was the final first-round pick taken by Jon Gruden, who coached the Raiders from 2018 to ’21, and former general manager Mike Mayock. Of the seven first-round selections made by Gruden and Mayock, only four players–offensive lineman Kolton Miller, defensive lineman Clelin Ferrell, safety Johnathan Abram and running back Josh Jacobs– remain in Las Vegas. Miller is the only one of the three players still on the roster to have his fifth-year option exercised by the Raiders.
The other three picks, all of whom were drafted in 2020 or ’21, have since been released. Wide receiver Henry Ruggs III and cornerback Damon Arnette were waived following incidents off-the-field, while Leatherwood was let go after just one season with the team.
