Raiders making much-needed tweaks to league-worst pass defense

By Case Keefer (contact)

Friday, Nov. 11, 2022 | 2 a.m.

When the Seattle Seahawks released Sidney Jones after failing to deal him at last week’s trade deadline, the veteran cornerback was prepared to sign to a new team’s practice squad and work his way up to the active roster.

That won’t be necessary with the Las Vegas Raiders, where the 26-year-old former second round pick out of Washington ultimately latched on with a contract announced earlier this week. Jones was immediately signed to the active roster and could make his debut as part of the defensive back rotation at 1:05 pm. Sunday when the Raiders (2-6) host the Indianapolis Colts (3-5-1) at Allegiant Stadium.

“I’m just happy to be here,” Jones said after his first practice at the Raiders’ Henderson headquarters earlier this week. “I’m ready to work hard and give everything I’ve got for this team. It’s unfortunate it didn’t work out at my previous situation, but I’m excited for another opportunity.”

Opportunities should come in abundance with the Raiders considering they have the league’s worst pass defense by a considerable margin according to Football Outsiders’ DVOA ratings. Las Vegas was picked apart by Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence in a loss last Sunday with its defensive backs routinely out of position and expressing signs of confusion and frustration.

It continued a troubling trend that’s persisted ever since Las Vegas returned from its bye three weeks ago. Before that, a month ago, the Raiders had an encouraging performance in Kansas City where they held MVP frontrunner Patrick Mahomes to a then season-low QBR and 1.1 yards below his season average per attempt in a 30-29 loss.

But they lost top cornerback Nate Hobbs to a broken hand in the game, and all progress has been erased ever since. Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills and New Orleans Saints quarterback Andy Dalton put up their season-high QBRs against the Raiders the next two weeks, respectively, and Lawrence fell just short of doing the same.

The Raiders’ coaching staff and front office had clearly seen enough as they made a pair of big moves this week to try to address the problem. In addition to bringing in Jones, Las Vegas also released safety Johnathan Abram, a former first round pick who has since signed with the Green Bay Packers.

Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said the reshuffling was not in an attempt to spark the defensive backfield, but rather a chance to see more of other players and evaluate them for the future.

“We’re tried to do this all year long and figure out what the right balance is,” he said. “We're giving young players opportunities in practice to continue to grow and develop and hopefully contribute during the course of the season. I think we've been honest with them; they've produced in practice and then they've earned opportunities in the game. So, this is no different."

McDaniels specifically pointed out undrafted rookie free agent safety Isaiah Pola-Mao as someone who could get a look after Abram’s exit. Pola-Mao, out of USC, was a surprise inclusion on the Raiders’ initial 53-man roster out of training camp before later being relegated to the practice squad.

But Las Vegas elevated him back up after parting ways with Abram. In addition to Pola-Mao, safeties Roderic Teamer and Matthias Farley — who have mostly played special teams — could also get playing time behind starting safeties Duron Harmon and Tre’von Moehrig beginning against the Colts.

“There’s a lot of talented players on this team,” Jones said. “We’ve just got to find a way to put it together.”

Las Vegas seemed to discover a capable cornerback trio earlier in the year with Hobbs, Rock Ya-Sin and Amik Robertson but it hasn’t been the same since the injury to the former. Free-agent acquisition cornerback Anthony Averett has struggled since returning from a broken thumb, and the Raiders have been hesitant to give a fourth cornerback — typically one elevated from the practice squad on gameday — many snaps.

That’s where Jones could fit in and contribute immediately.

“He’s played a lot of football and we just felt like it was an opportunity for us to potentially add some good depth,” McDaniels said of Jones. “A player that has some experience, some wisdom, knows how to play. At this time of the year, you don't get many opportunities to do that. So, we’re fortunate we were able to get that done, and we're excited to see how this goes going forward with him.”

The Raiders had more room to maneuver in the defensive backfield, but it’s been far from their only problem in defending opposing pass games. They’ve also gotten no pressure on opposing quarterbacks, sitting last in the league with a 3.1% sack rate.

They don’t have a single sack over the last two weeks and seemed to give up on the objective against the Jaguars at times by dropping edge rushers Maxx Crosby and Chandler Jones into coverage in the second half. The hope is working in some new defensive backs like Sidney Jones and Pola-Mao can help lift everyone’s games.

There’s no getting around how poorly the Raiders have been against the pass recently, but perhaps if all the defensive backs adopt Sidney Jones’ mindset, they can slow the onslaught of yards through the air.

“I’ve been here before in situations where it’s not all glory and glitz and glam,” Jones said. “I had to grind and get out the mud, so this is just another one.”

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