Busy day: Raiders add to offensive line, place QB on injured reserve

Things were so hectic for the Raiders on Wednesday that their newly acquired swing tackle wasn’t able to get on the field when they began their afternoon practice.

Stone Forsythe, who the team signed to replace Thayer Munford Jr. on the roster, only took the field midway through the workout.

“He did a quick touch his toes and got in some of the drills,” general manager John Spytek said.

Spytek, coach Pete Carroll and the rest of the Raiders brass got most of their heavy lifting done Tuesday, when theytrimmed the roster to 53 players. But they still got plenty done Wednesday. In addition to signing Forsythe and waiving Munford, they claimed edge rusher Brennan Jackson off waivers, placed quarterback Aidan O’Connell on injured reserve and signed 17 players to their practice squad.

Forsythe, 27, was released by the Giants on Tuesday. He was selected by Carroll and the Seahawks in the sixth round of the 2021 draft, so the Raiders decided to pick him up and cut Munford after the former Ohio State standout struggled in his fourth training camp in Las Vegas.

Forsythe, who has played 53 games and made 14 starts over four NFL seasons, will be relied upon to provide depth at both tackle spots. That should buy time for rookie third-round pick Charles Grant to develop.

“Stone will be our vision of the new swing tackle, the number three (on the depth chart), while Charles continues to keep working,” Spytek said.

Practice squad signings

None of the players the Raiders cut Tuesday were claimed by another team.

That allowed them to re-sign 17 of them to their practice squad, a group that includes rookie quarterback Cam Miller, a sixth-round pick.

The other players the Raiders signed were running back Chris Collier, linebacker Matt Jones, offensive linemen Atonio Mafi and Laki Tasi, tight ends Albert Okwuegbunam Jr. and Carter Runyon, cornerbacks JT Woods and Greedy Vance, defensive linemen Jahfari Harvey and Treven Ma’ae, wide receivers Alex Bachman, Shedrick Jackson and Justin Shorter and safeties Terrell Edmunds and Trey Taylor.

Rookie wide receiver Tommy Mellott, a sixth-round pick, was not added to the practice squad. He and Miller were the only members of the Raiders’ 11-man draft class to not make the initial 53-man roster.

Mellott, a college quarterback transitioning to a new position in the NFL, ran out of time to impress the team.

“I don’t think people understand quite how hard (changing positions) is,” Spytek said. “And unfortunately, this is not a field where there’s a lot of patience all the time. And I still believe in Tommy. I think he’s got a really bright future, and I really hope that he finds a place where he can find maybe a little more patience from a roster standpoint.”

O’Connell to IR

O’Connell, who is expected to return in five to six weeks after breaking his right wrist, was moved to injured reserve Wednesday after initially being placed on the 53-man roster.

The Raiders waited to make the move because they “thought that this will just give us a little bit more flexibility,” Spytek said.

Putting O’Connell on the initial roster means the team didn’t need to designate that he will return this season. Clubs can only do that a limited number of times.

O’Connell could still return after sitting out at least four games, or he could remain on IR definitely now that the Raiders have added a new backup quarterback in Kenny Pickett. O’Connell could also become a trade chip if another team needs a quarterback at some point.

New defender

Jackson, 24, was a fifth-round pick of the Rams out of Washington State in 2024. He appeared in seven games as a rookie last season and had three tackles and a pass breakup.

He’ll join a rotation of pass rushers that includes Maxx Crosby, Malcolm Koonce, Tyree Wilson and Charles Snowden in Las Vegas.

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