Will the Raiders make any surprise cuts to get down to the initial 53-man roster?

UPDATE: The Raiders waived tight end Nick Bowers and wide receiver Justin Hall on Sunday. The Raiders placed defensive tackle Tyler Lancaster, tackle Brandon Parker and linebacker Tae Davis on injured reserve. The Raiders have 75 players on the roster and needs to get down to the initial 53-man roster by 1 p.m. PDT Tuesday.

ORIGINAL STORY: Preseason is a wrap for the Raiders. Now, who will they keep or cut in getting down to the initial 53-man roster?

The deadline to get down to the mandated limit is 1 p.m. PDT Tuesday.

“We’re going to keep as many as we can,” said Raiders coach Josh McDaniels, after a 23-6 win over the New England Patriots to finish the preseason at 4-0. “Like I said those are tough decisions, tough conversations. Our players understand that but, they didn’t lack for effort, or execution. They’re trying to do everything they can to help us and help themselves at the same time. I thought our group did that for the most part.”

For the Raiders, one big decision is what to do with guard/tackle Alex Leatherwood, who has continued to struggle at right tackle after seeing his share of problems last season.

He was ineffective a week ago in a start against the Miami Dolphins and was even pulled from the game before returning in the third quarter.

What are the Raiders’ options with Leatherwood? Do they keep him, play him at right guard and hope he improves. What is Leatherwood’s value to another team, if Las Vegas wanted to pursue a trade?

Or do the Raiders outright cut him and admit to a big draft mistake?

He is in his second season and maybe still young enough to improve, but selecting him with the 17th overall pick in 2021 was not a good move by the previous regime. A permanent switch to guard could help after Pro Football Focus said “he put together a worse 30.7 PFF grade at tackle last season as a rookie.”

Projecting the 53-man roster generally won’t go exactly the way that The Bee or any other media outlet predicts, because trades happen or a nagging injury will force a player to go on short-term injured reserve.

Sometimes a surprise will occur. Is that surprise coming with Leatherwood?

Here’s how The Bee sees the Raiders reaching the cutdown number.

The Bee’s projected initial 53-man Raiders roster

QB (2): Derek Carr, Jarrett Stidham

RB (4): Josh Jacobs, Brandon Bolden, Ameer Abduallah, Zamir White

FB (1): Jakob Johnson

WR (5): Davante Adams, Hunter Renfrow, Mack Hollins, Keelan Cole, Tyron Johnson

TE (3): Darren Waller, Foster Moreau, Jesper Horsted

LT (2): Kolton Miller, Jackson Barton

LG (2): John Simpson, Dylan Parham

C (1): Andre James

RG (1): Lester Cotton Sr.

RT (2): Jeremaine Eluemunor, Thayer Munford

DE (3): Chandler Jones, Cle Ferrell, Malcolm Koonce

DT (4): Johnathan Hankins, Andrew Billings, Kendal Vickers, Neil Farrell Jr.

DT (3): Bilal Nichols, Kyle Peko, Matthew Butler

DE (2): Maxx Crosby, Tashawn Bower

OLB (1): Divine Deablo

MLB (3): Denzel Perryman, Darien Butler

OLB (2): Jayon Brown, Luke Masterson

CB (2): Nate Hobbs, Trayvon Mullen Jr.

CB (3): Rock Ya-Sin, Anthony Averett, Darius Phillips

FS (2): Tre’von Moeherig, Duron Harmon

SS (2): Johnathan Abram, Roderic Teamer

P (1): AJ Cole

K (1): Daniel Carlson

LS (1): Trent Sieg

Final analysis on projected roster

Whether it’s by trade or a cut, Leatherwood is gone in the above scenario.

General manager Davie Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels didn’t hesitate in earlier bidding farewell to running back Kenyan Drake, despite his two-year, $11 million contract with the team., of which $11 million was guaranteed, according to Overthecap.

Ziegler and McDaniels likely won’t let money be an issue when it comes to their decision on Leatherwood.

Expect Eluemnuor to start the season at right tackle, since he’s been starting for Kolton Miller at left tackle.

The question for the Raiders is whether they will go with what they have remaining at right guard or do they sign somebody off the waiver wire? There’s a good chance of the latter option, which will mean making room for a new guy at the expense of one of those on the initial roster.

The Bee expects rookie Brittain Brown to be put on the practice squad and tackle Brandon Parker to be placed on injured reserve.