The Oakland Raiders Need To Bring In Quinton Coples

By Jonathan George | Nov 23, 2015

Per NFL.com’s Dan Hanzus, the news broke Monday that the New York Jets had waived linebacker Quinton Coples after their loss to the Texans this weekend. Coples, a former 1st round pick in the 2012 draft (16th overall) had been a disappointment in New York, with only 16.5 sacks in just over three and a half years in the NFL. His availability and the Oakland Raiders pass rushing needs could be a good match.

As it happens, the Raiders have just lost Aldon Smith to suspension and had earlier lost Justin Tuck to injury. They are needy at the outside pass rushing position, and while Coples isn’t Lawrence Taylor by any stretch of the imagination, he is a young former 1st round talent that has shown flashes of ability.

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Coples did have a career high 6.5 sacks in 2014 while playing for Rex Ryan in New York. While he hasn’t done much in 2015 in terms of production, it’s easy to forget just how loaded the Jets front four is. With guys like this year’s 1st rounder Leonard Williams, along with Muhammed Wilkerson, Calvin Pace and Sheldon Richardson, you could argue Coples has gotten lost in the mix.

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But he wouldn’t have that issue in Oakland. The Raiders have a young stud in Khalil Mack, and a hopeful future star in Mario Williams Jr., but not much else. Bringing in Coples, if he’s healthy, would give head coach Jack Del Rio another young pass rusher that could contribute quickly.

The best news is that the Raiders could probably get Coples fairly cheap, considering his downfall in New York. One could argue the only reason the Jets had to cut Coples was his impending 7 million plus cap hit in 2016; the Raiders don’t obviously need to worry about that, and can offer Coples a much lower “prove it” contract for the rest of 2015.

Coples would get a chance to prove he belongs and Oakland gets a young pass rusher with talent and the desire to show his 1st round draft selection wasn’t a mistake; everyone wins.

While in New York during his rookie and sophomore campaigns, Coples looked to be an emerging player to be reckoned with; he was ranked in the top half of all outside pass rushers in 2012, and the #13 overall outside linebacker in 2013 by profootballfocus.com. Something happened in 2014, as even though he recorded 6.5 sacks, his overall play was poor.

The Raiders are at a crossroad as a team in 2015. They are sitting at 4-6 and a streak of winning or losing could decide if they can make any noise for a playoff run. They have struggled all year in rushing the quarterback, and need as much help as they can get. Couples coming in under a pro-rated 6 game contract can only help at this point.

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To be fair, Coples is not a savior for the Raiders defense. But he does have pass rushing ability, and his strength is definitely the Raiders weakness. Oakland has to take a long hard look at Quinton Coples for the rest of 2015, and maybe beyond.

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