Raiders have tight window to get linebacker squared away

The process of getting Denzel Perryman onto the field will take a little while.

The Raiders’ trade for the veteran middle linebacker is not only predicated on Perryman passing his physical, but he must also complete all COVID-19 protocols as an unvaccinated player.

As a result, even if Perryman gets through his physical with a clean bill of health — and there is some concern given he missed a significant amount of Panthers camp with a hip injury — he is still subject to a five-day re-entry process before being allowed in the Raiders’ facility.

That means the earliest he can join his new teammates is Monday.

With the Raiders’ season opener just over two weeks away, there is still time to get him acclimated. It helps that Perryman spent the last four seasons playing under Gus Bradley, the Raiders’ first-year defensive coordinator, and new linebackers coach Richard Smith.

The Raiders envision Perryman as a capable player who, for the time being, slots behind Nick Kwiatkoski at middle linebacker. Kwiatkoski has missed two weeks of practices after suffering an undisclosed injury in the preseason opener against the Seattle Seahawks. He is expected back next week.

Kwiatkoski is slated to replace Nicholas Morrow, who is out for an extended period of time with a foot injury he suffered in a joint practice last week with the Rams.

“Obviously Nick’s a good player for us and we feel good about him, but who’s that next guy?” Bradley said.

When healthy, Perryman has been a productive NFL player. Keeping him on the field, though, has been a challenge. In six seasons with the Chargers, Perryman never played a full 16-game schedule.

In the role the Raiders hope to carve out for him, Perryman isn’t expected to play starter snaps. That should mitigate the injury concerns while accentuating his strengths.

“He’s a very good leader, very good pro, and he brings some explosiveness to us,” Bradley said. “He’s got very good instincts. He understands the package and what is asked of him. We just need to create some more depth there because of some of the situations we’ve been in.”

Adding depth to particular position groups has been a theme for the Raiders all camp. After falling victim to late-game and late-season collapses the last two years, they have made a concerted effort to lengthen rotations to keep players fresh in such situations.

The Perryman trade is a step in that direction. He will slot in behind current starters Cory Littleton, Kwiatkoski and Tanner Muse in the base defense, joining Divine Deablo and Morrow and Javin White in that role when they return from their injuries.

“You’re seeing guys play a lot of positions, and you credit coach Smith,” Bradley said.

Deablo was cleared for practice this week and will get a long look on Sunday when the Raiders close out the preseason against the San Francisco 49ers. Like Muse and White, Deablo is a converted college safety learning to play linebacker in the NFL.

“As far as the mental aspect, I feel like I’m understanding the defense pretty well,” Deablo said. “I’m confident in my game. I do have to work on attacking linemen and being aggressive with them. But outside of that, I’m confident.”

Deablo’s background as a safety will help him in pass coverage, which is a must at that position in today’s NFL. But the key will be how he holds up in the run while playing closer to the line of scrimmage.

“For him, it’s just defending the run,” Bradley said. “It seems like, at this point, he’s a guy that’s got pretty good instincts. So we’ll still have to see against the run and putting it all together.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.