Nicholas Morrow had a breakout 2020 season and looked poised for a bigger role. A foot injury will be keeping him out for "a while" per Jon Gruden.
Nicholas Morrow had his best season to date in 2020 after he took hold of a starting role in the defense following multiple injuries. Morrow ended up starting 11 games and set career highs in tackles (78), tackles for a loss (8), sacks (3), passes defended (9), and QB hits (6). The Raiders were impressed and Morrow seemed to have passed last year's free-agent acquisition Nick Kwiatkoski on the depth chart.
Morrow suffered a foot injury during the team's scrimmage with the Rams yesterday, and the update on the injury is not promising:
#Raiders linebackers Nicholas Morrow, Javin White out ‘a while’ https://t.co/y91BqSBcuc
— Bill Williamson (@BWilliamsonNFL) August 25, 2021
It sounds like Nicholas Morrow's injury is putting his season in jeopardy and the Raiders also made a recent acquisition that further confirms Morrow to miss an extended period of time. The Raiders seemed worried about their linebacker depth even with Tanner Muse returning this season and adding Devine Deablo to the mix.
The Raiders decided to send a late-round pick to the Panthers for Denzel Perryman who had just signed a two-year contract with the team:
Per @AdamSchefter, the #Raiders are trading for Denzel Perryman from the #Panthers.
With the injuries to Nicholas Morrow and Javin White, Las Vegas fills a need. pic.twitter.com/U61kkWp7w2
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) August 26, 2021
Perryman is just a solid run defender and not much more, but he adds depth and experience to the position. This should mean more run in the defense for Nick Kwiatkoski, though it has become a true camp battle to see who will line up next to Cory Littleton.
When we receive a better update on Morrow's timetable to return, as well as how the depth chart plays out, I will leave an update here.
