Perryman’s play, personality are equally infectious to Raiders still in the hunt

By Case Keefer (contact)

Friday, Dec. 2, 2022 | 2 a.m.

Late in regulation of the Las Vegas Raiders’ overtime win against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, the toll of playing a season-high snap count had begun to wear on Denzel Perryman.

Las Vegas’ middle linebacker, who’s battled a variety of injuries all season, started to cramp up and move gingerly in between plays. Edge rusher Maxx Crosby took notice and brought it upon himself to remind Perryman of his importance in a tight game.

“I looked at him and was like, ‘Denzel, you’re not leaving this game,’ ” Crosby recalled. “He looked at me, shook his head and (the defense) got off the field, and that was it. I appreciate him. The dude is a hell of a player, a great teammate.”

Perryman pushed past his pain and helped the Raiders’ defense get back-to-back stops at the end of regulation and the start of overtime that led to Josh Jacobs’ walk-off 86-yard touchdown run. The 30-year-old linebacker has been among the team’s best players during a two-game winning streak that has the Raiders (4-7) still alive for the playoffs heading into a 1:25 p.m. game Sunday afternoon at Allegiant Stadium against the Los Angeles Chargers (6-5).

Perryman had his first interception in two seasons with the Raiders earlier in the game against the Seahawks, returning it 24 yards to set up an offensive touchdown on the next play. The week before in an overtime victory at Denver, Perryman was a menace with three quarterback pressures and five run stuffs where the home team gained three yards or less.

His performance in the victory against the Broncos was one of the veteran’s best games as a Raider, and it came with him at less than 100% healthy. Perryman was questionable going into the contest with hip and rib injuries that had kept him sidelined the week before.

“The guys respond to him, his leadership, his personality, his energy, and he brings an element of toughness that you love in the middle of your defense,” Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said. “Denzel to his credit has fought back from a couple of things here that have nagged him a little bit during the course of the season, but he’s healthy now and we’re excited.”

Perryman has been a productive player ever since the Chargers selected him in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft out of Miami, but he’s never felt as needed as he does with this year’s Raiders. Not only has McDaniels repeatedly labeled him as the defense’s energizing spark on the field, but Perryman has also been among the most respected players in the locker room.

His teammates voted him a team captain coming into the season, an honor he counts as a milestone of his career.

“It’s the first time in ... eight years that I have a group of guys that took me serious,” Perryman said earlier this year.

Perryman has been misunderstood throughout his NFL career, largely because of his personality. He’s a free spirit who’s more likely to be smiling and reminding teammates that football is “really just fun and games” than wearing the prototypical game-face scowl.

“People call me funny, but I’ll be dead serious when I talk,” Perryman said. “It’s a switch. I feel like my teammates know me by now. They know I can play around and then get serious.”

The same dynamic plays out in interviews. Perryman will say he only wants to talk about football, but then can’t help but be engaging about more trivial matters such as his daily headwear choice or his coffee routine.

Perryman has switched between bucket hats and beanies this year that sometimes have “a little message” for his teammates. He’s always among the first customers at Starbucks, grabbing a double shot caramel macchiato at 5 a.m. each morning.

Sometimes he dips out of the team’s Henderson headquarters midday before meetings to get another, with McDaniels jokingly texting him, “you could have brought me one,” as he sees him rushing back in.

“We always just talk about being yourself, and he’s being himself: He’s funny, he’s a jokester,” quarterback Derek Carr said. “He’s a funny guy but the one thing about him is when it’s time to play, you want him by your side. He’s a violent football player and we love him to death.”

After six seasons with the Chargers, Perryman signed a two-year, $6 million contract with the Carolina Panthers last offseason. But he fell out of favor before the end of training camp and was traded to the Raiders for a sixth-round pick.

With stories circulating of former Panthers coach Matt Rhule’s controlling nature and preferred buttoned-up culture, it’s easy to see why Perryman wasn’t considered a fit. Perryman never disparaged his brief time with the Panthers, but immediately appeared to click better with the Raiders.

He had a breakout season last year to earn his first career Pro Bowl nod. The harmony seemed to be in jeopardy going into this year, with Las Vegas bringing in a new coaching staff, especially considering that McDaniels’ first tenure as a head coach in Denver reportedly had some of the same characteristics as Rhule’s Carolina tenure.

But McDaniels has insisted he’s grown from that experience a decade ago, and perhaps the way he’s bonded with Perryman and enjoyed getting to know “a lot of the things he’s interested in” is a testament to that.

“The depth of a human being is something that if you take time to get into that and really find time to get into people, they reciprocate that,” McDaniels said of Perryman. “He’s been a great leader, a really good mentor to our football team … and obviously he brings a great contribution on the field too. We’re just fortunate that he’s here.”

There’s no guarantee Perryman will stay in Las Vegas beyond the final six scheduled games this season, though. The contract he signed is up after this year, and he said in training camp he wouldn’t be discussing the situation.

But it’s hard to imagine the Raiders without Perryman at this point, as the team has not only embraced his persona but also adopted it as its own.

“I feel like I play a very violent game, a very physical game,” Perryman said. “I’m always smiling and joking around, but when it’s in between whistles, I’m all about business.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or