The Las Vegas Raiders recently released Andre James, one of the few players left who played for the team when they were still in Oakland.
The last remaining Oakland-era players on the roster were Kolton Miller, Maxx Crosby, Daniel Carlson, A.J. Cole, and James. The team let James go, and even though he had lost his starting center spot to rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson from last year’s draft, James could have still been useful. He played guard in college and could have stepped in there or served as a backup center if injuries hit.
The move doesn’t make much financial sense either. Cutting James saved the Raiders just $1.4 million this year while leaving $7.2 million in dead money, according to Over the Cap. If they had waited until next year, they could have saved $7.1 million with only $1.7 million in dead money. Keeping him for depth would’ve been smarter, especially considering the injuries the team dealt with last season. With so little cap relief and a clear need for experienced backups, letting James go looks like a questionable call.
It was truly one of the weirdest situations that we have seen under the new general manager John Spytek. And, even Pete Carroll, when he was with the Seattle Seahawks, didn't make bad decisions like that. Now, it's not a decision that could hurt the Raiders big time right now, but who knows, if the Raiders have major injuries on the interior, they're going to wish they kept James around for another year.
Now he gets to be a great, experienced depth piece for the Chargers.
Andre James signs with Chargers
Andre James played at UCLA in college and is actually from the area. So, signing with the Los Angeles Chargers, who had a terrible offensive line last year outside of two pieces, makes sense. He's going to help them, whether he wins the starter job, or is a depth piece, he's going to be helping the Chargers solve some sort of problem that the Raiders now have to solve. For the Raiders, it's who will be the backup center or even back guard. Or, you could even ask the question, who is going to start at guard for the Raiders?
James really wasn't that bad for the Raiders, either. Jackson Powers-Johnson was just far better. In 2024 he played 653 snaps, where he had 10 blown blocks, five in pass block reps, and five in run block, per Sports Info Solutions. He had just one hold and no false starts.
The Raiders should have kept him to help their offensive line situation, considering the financial implications.
