Raiders move on from starters Alex Leatherwood, Trayvon Mullen
There are always surprises on cut day and Las Vegas Raiders decided they wanted to make headlines today. The Las Vegas Raiders announced on Tuesday that they had moved on from not only one, but two starters from the 2021 season. First-round draft pick from 2021, offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood, and second-round pick from 2019, CB Trayvon Mullen, are out of Las Vegas.
There was substantial speculation that Leatherwood would either be moved from right tackle to guard, released, or traded by cut day. The less likely option was supposedly that Leatherwood would be released given the $7 million in dead cap that the Raiders would incur if he was cut.
Leatherwood was popularly labeled a bust after his rookie season after being forced to move to right guard after poor performances at the right tackle position. Leatherwood received low ratings throughout the league and created a substantial amount of penalties that did not help the Raiders win games. Leatherwood will likely be signed by another team at the guard position but his days as a Raider are over.
The Raiders front office was not done erasing the draft selections by the Jon Gruden/Mike Mayock regime. The Raiders also announced that cornerback Trayvon Mullen was being traded to the Arizona Cardinals for a conditional sixth-round pick. Mullen was a second-round pick from the 2019 draft and was a starter for the Raiders over the last three seasons. Mullen only played in five games in 2021 and before that had played in 31 of 37 games with four interceptions.
Unfortunately, Mullen’s his most notable move in 2021 was assembling the team on the Chiefs logo pregame in Week 14 which resulted in a thrashing by the Chiefs where they beat the Raiders 48-9. Not good.
Wishing Trayvon Mullen the best but unfortunately this is the last memory I’ll have of him as a #Raider.
— Raiding The Kingdom🎙 (@RaidTheKingdom) August 30, 2022
Having the team stand on the #Chiefs logo only to get hurt and then the blowout that ensued. #oncearaider pic.twitter.com/oPULmHQcbS
“Once a Raider, always a Raider” is the adage coined by the legendary Al Davis. While this rings true the new management team of general manager Dave Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels are not wasting time on failed draft picks from the former HC and GM. Onto the next.