Throughout free agency, I’ve heard Raiders fans begging the team to sign Terron Armstead. But as a three-time Pro Bowl left tackle, he was going to get big money as a free agent, so that was never going to happen. Not with the Raiders set at left tackle with Kolton Miller. But Armstead getting signed may work in the Raiders’ favor anyway.
Armstead landed his big contract with the Miami Dolphins. And today, the fallout has put a versatile veteran starting tackle on the market who could be just what the Raiders need.
Veteran OL Jesse Davis, released by the #Dolphins today in the wake of the Terron Armstead signing, started 72 games over the past 5 seasons, at 4 different spots. One of the most versatile and experienced OL now available and figures to have options.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 24, 2022
What the Raiders need is a new starting right tackle. They have brought back Jermaine Eluemunor and Brandon Parker, but neither of them have proven they can be the answer at right tackle. Parker is a reserve swing tackle at best and Eluemunor is best served as a reserve utility guard/tackle.
Jesse Davis, on the other hand, has a great deal of starting experience. Primarily at the tackle spot.
The 6-6, 318-pounder has never missed a game in his five-year NFL career. And over the past four seasons, he’s started almost every one of them. The past three years, those starts have largely come at tackle.
In total, Davis has started 46 games at tackle the past three seasons. Of those, 38 have come at tackle — 31 at right tackle and seven at left tackle.
In 2019 Davis started 15 games, all at tackle. He gave up four sacks with four penalties in 975 snaps. In 2020, he started 15 games, with nine of those starts coming at tackle and allowed just one sack with two penalties.
Last season was statistically Davis’s worst season, giving up eight sacks with four penalties in 1063 snaps. And yet it was still better than Brandon Parker who gave up the same number of sacks (8), with more than twice as many penalties (9) in nearly 200 fewer snaps (881).
I’m not going to compare Davis to Donald Penn, but his situation definitely reminds me of Penn’s. Where he has a supposed down year, prompting his team to sign a big free agent and let him go. I say it’s worth a shot to see if Davis can win the starting right tackle job in Las Vegas.
