Surprising Raiders moves made, including a retirement. ‘What’s going on in Vegas?’
It’s been an interesting week for the Raiders.
Earlier this week, the Raiders released safety Johnathan Abram after he played four seasons for the silver and black.
The Raiders made more moves Thursday by placing tight end Darren Waller (hamstring) and wide receiver Hunter Renfrow (oblique) on the short-term injured reserve list, meaning they’ll miss the next four games.
Then the Raiders were surprised when linebacker Blake Martinez announced his retirement from the NFL after he signed with the team on Oct. 7.
Martinez was coming off where he played a season-high 61 snaps and led the team with 11 tackles in a 27-20 loss to the Jaguars.
The moves comes days after the Raiders lost to the Jaguars 27-20 that sent the team to 2-6 entering their game against the Colts at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday.
Many reacted to the flurry of moves, including former Raiders running back Kenyan Drake, now with the Baltimore Ravens.
Others chimed in, too.
Martinez, 28, played his first four seasons with the Packers before going to the Giants for two seasons.
He finishes his NFL career with 706 tackles, 18 quarterback hits, four interceptions, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
In corresponding moves, the Raiders signed LB Curtis Bolton to the active roster and signed linebacker Reggie Ragland to the practice squad.
Ragland enters his sixth season in the NFL after he was selected by the Bills in the second round (41st overall) of the 2016 NFL draft.
He also spent time with the Chiefs (2017-19), Lions (2020) and Giants (2021).
This story was originally published November 10, 2022 at 3:15 PM with the headline "Surprising Raiders moves made, including a retirement. ‘What’s going on in Vegas?’."
