What Raiders coach Jon Gruden sees in Denzel Perryman and what he’s looking for from him
Denzel Perryman is back with Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Gus Bradley after a short stint with the Carolina Panthers.
The Raiders acquired Perryman from the Panthers on Wednesday evening after linebackers Nicholas Morrow and Javin White went down with injuries.
Raiders coach Jon Gruden describes Perryman as an “alpha” player who is expecting a lot from the veteran.
“Well, No. 1, he’s a good player,” he said. “He’s had some good plays out there as a middle linebacker in this defense, with this staff, against us. So, it would be nice to get a couple of these guys that know our staff that can play. He’s a fiery, alpha presence and I think we need that on our defense, especially in the middle of our defense. We need help and to get a guy that can help us of this stature could be a real, real positive thing for us. But we have a lot to prove there too. He’s got to stay healthy; he’s got to come in here and put the silver and black on and play his best football for us.”
Perryman and Bradley were together with the Chargers from 2017 to 2020.
“He’s a very good leader, very good pro,” Bradley said Thursday. “He brings some explosiveness to us. He’s got very good instincts; he understands the package and what is asked of him.”
The available Raiders linebackers include Asmar Bilal, Divine Deablo, Nick Kwiatkoski, Cory Littleton, Tanner Muse and Max Richardson.
Raiders coach Jon Gruden said Kwiatkoski, who’s been out, should be available next week.
Te’von Coney was waived late Thursday presumably to make room for Perryman.
Gruden indicated Wednesday that they may have to look outside for linebacker help and did that with Perryman, who has knowledge of Bradley’s defensive schemes.
Perryman, 28, has been dealing with his own injury.
The Charlotte Observer reported Perryman had been dealing with a hip flexor injury for much of training camp and practiced one day in full pads in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The Observer said Perryman was also limited in OTAs prior to that.
Perryman, a middle linebacker, also had a foot injury when a teammate stepped on him.
He became expendable after he lost the middle linebacker job to Jermaine Carter this week despite Panthers coach Matt Rhule saying he still has a role in the defense.
That role will now be with the Raiders, and Bradley is excited to be working with Perryman again.
“Denzel, we have a lot of history with him just from our time back with the Chargers,” he said. “We just need to create some more depth there because of some of the situations we’ve been in. Healthy and come back in and able to play, he’ll be a good addition. I think he’ll fit in well with that group too.”
Are the Raiders done making moves at the linebacker position?
The Raiders could still look on the outside for help. Still available is linebacker K.J. Wright, who spent some time with Bradley with the Seattle Seahawks.
Wright recently met with the Raiders in Henderson, Nevada, but left without a deal.
Raider Nation have been lobbying for Wright who’s been in the NFL since 2011 and made the Pro Bowl in 2016.
The roster cut deadline to get to the initial 53-man limit is Aug. 31.
This story was originally published August 26, 2021 at 6:02 PM.
