Las Vegan Jeremiah Poutasi resurrects career with Raiders

Jeremiah Poutasi’s dream of playing professional football has taken him around the country and the NFL in search of the right opportunity.

But it was a rare stop at home that helped the Raiders’ offensive lineman rediscover his love for the game and reignite his career, resulting in a spot on the team’s practice squad.

The 27-year-old Desert Pines High alumnus was drafted in the third round by the Titans out of Utah in 2015. He made seven starts as a rookie, but was released and started the only game he played the next season with the Jaguars.

Poutasi made offseason or training camp appearances with the Rams, Broncos and Cardinals from 2017 to 2019 but hasn’t played in an NFL game since 2016.

There were stops in the Alliance of American Football and the Fan Controlled Football League along the way.

That’s when the reality of the business side of football started to take hold. Poutasi came home to Las Vegas and became a security guard at the Rio to support his wife and three young children.

There was a chance his football career was over, but the game found its way back into his life.

When Poutasi was at Utah, he would return to Desert Pines and work with the offensive linemen, including his younger brothers. Even though it brought him joy, he realized he had stopped such visits when he became a pro.

“I was just focused so much on myself, and I feel like I wasn’t really me,” he said. “So after 2019, I was out of the league after I was with the Arizona Cardinals, and that’s when I kind of got back into coaching. That’s when I felt like I found myself. Just coaching, staying close to family and prioritizing my life a little bit.

“The pandemic was hard for everybody, but I count it as a blessing because it kind of got me straight. I’m so happy to be here now.”

He signed with the Raiders during training camp, his first NFL deal since 2019.

Poutasi still works with the offensive line at Desert Pines. He often conducts workouts at All-American Park, where he has fond memories of his first practices as a seventh grader for the Island Warriors in the Nevada Youth Football League.

“That’s when I really started to fall in love with the sport of football,” he said.

The kids have helped him remember that while also helping him improve.

“It kind of helps me, too, because I wouldn’t tell them to do something I wouldn’t,” Poutasi said. “So it kind of keeps me in line to how important this sport is and how much it can give if you give to it.”

Poutasi has given the sport plenty and learned plenty of hard lessons. He’s had success on the field and fallen short more than his fair share of times.

It’s those lessons he’s trying to impart to his pupils.

“Everything they’re trying to do, I’ve been through,” he said. “I’ve been in their shoes, and I’m still doing it. So there’s no excuse for why you can’t. I’m kind of teaching these kids my losses, all my mistakes, so they don’t have to make the same ones.”

Poutasi played 85 snaps in the preseason, including 41 dropbacks, and allowed one sack, according to Pro Football Focus. He was released by the Raiders on cutdown day but signed to the practice squad 24 hours later.

The way practice squad rules are structured, Poutasi has a good shot at playing for the Raiders.

“It still feels surreal,” he said. “I met a lot of great people when I wasn’t playing, and they’re all aware of my situation with the Raiders. They’re rooting for me. All the kids I’ve been coaching and the parents I’ve met, I can really feel it from them.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.