Raiders Projected Roster: Getting to 53

Linebacker and receiver are two positions where the Raiders still have questions to answer before the final cut-down. Here's a look at who we think will make the team and who won't.

By Eric Gilmore

Aug 28, 2012 at 5:29 pm ET • 6 min read

The Raiders head into their exhibition finale Thursday night at Seattle with a few questions left to be answered before they cut their roster from 75 to 53 the next day.

Most of the starting jobs are locked up, and the key backup positions are set, too. So most of the battles are for a handful of spots near the bottom of the roster.

The Raiders are still keeping a close eye on starting weak-side linebacker Aaron Curry, who is on preseason PUP with injuries to both knees, and wide receiver/kick returner Jacoby Ford, who sprained his left foot in the second preseason game at Arizona. Curry appears headed for the regular-season PUP list, which would force him to miss the first six weeks of the season before being eligible to be activated. Ford is out of his walking boot, but his availability for the Sept. 10 opener against San Diego is still in doubt.

Stock rising: DT Jamie Cumbie, who spent last season on the practice squad, had a huge game Saturday against Detroit, knocking down three passes and recording one sack. He needed to get noticed, and he did. The third pass he deflected was intercepted by fellow DT Christo Bilukidi.

Stock falling: WR Eddie McGee’s bubble could well have burst Saturday against Detroit. He slipped twice while running pass routes. Another time a pass went off his hands and was intercepted by the Lions.

QB -- In: (3) Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, Terrelle Pryor. Analysis: Pryor had a spectacular game against Detroit, throwing a pair of long touchdown passes and running for a score. He’ll open the season as the No. 3 quarterback, behind Palmer and Leinart.

RB -- In: (5) Darren McFadden, Taiwan Jones, Mike Goodson, Marcel Reece (FB), Owen Schmitt (FB). Out: Lonyae Miller. Analysis: After missing the first two games with a hamstring injury, Jones rushed for 50 yards on 10 carries against Detroit, proving he’s healthy and locking up the job as McFadden’s primary backup. Goodson averaged just 2.6 yards on seven carries, but he touched the ball nine times, including two kick returns, and he didn’t fumble. What’s more, he avoided injury -- a big improvement from his Raiders debut against Arizona when he fumbled twice and left the game with a stinger. Miller, a power runner, still has an outside chance to take Goodson’s roster spot. Marcel Reece, a converted wide receiver with big-play ability that’s rare for a fullback, is a lock. Schmitt should survive because of his skills as a lead blocker.

WR -- In: (5) Darrius Heyward-Bey, Denarius Moore, Jacoby Ford, Rod Streater, Juron Criner. Out: Eddie McGee, Derek Carrier, Brandon Carswell, Travionte Session. Analysis: Heyward-Bey, Moore and Ford are locks, and Streater, an undrafted rookie, ended all doubt by catching 18 passes in the first three games. The Raiders spent a fifth-round pick on Criner, a big-bodied possession receiver, who slipped in the draft. He looks like a lock after two impressive TD catches against Arizona. McGee is in big trouble unless both Moore and Ford are expected to miss the opener.

TE -- In: (3) Brandon Myers, Richard Gordon, David Ausberry. Out: Kyle Efaw, Tory Humphrey. Analysis: The Raiders released starting tight end Kevin Boss during the offseason in a cost-cutting move, leaving the job wide open. Myers, Gordon and Ausberry are the main candidates. Myers, who missed the first two games with a shoulder injury, all but locked up the starting job with a five-catch night against Detroit, but Gordon and Ausberry should make the team, too. Gordon is the best blocker in the bunch and has improved as a receiver. Ausberry, a converted wide receiver from USC, provides more of a big-play threat.

OL -- In: (8) Jared Veldheer, Khalif Barnes, Mike Brisiel, Cooper Carlisle, Stefen Wisniewski, Joe Barksdale, Tony Bergstrom, Alex Parsons. Out: Kevin Haslam, Nick Howell, Colin Miller, Lucas Nix, Dan Knapp. Analysis: The presumptive starting five -- LT Veldheer, RT Barnes, RG Brisiel, LG Carlisle and C Wisniewski -- are locks. Parsons has started for Wisniewski at center the first three games and worked with the first team throughout the offseason while Wisniewski recovered from shoulder surgery. He’s a lock and might even start. Barksdale, a second-year tackle, and rookie G Bergstrom, a third-round pick and the Raiders’ top choice in the draft, are also locks.

DL -- In: (9) Richard Seymour, Tommy Kelly, Matt Shaughnessy, Lamarr Houston, Dave Tollefson, Desmond Bryant, Jack Crawford, Christo Bilukidi, Jamie Cumbie Out: Dominique Hamilton, Hall Davis. Analysis: This is the deepest position on the team. DT Seymour, DT Kelly, DE Shaughnessy and DE Houston -- the starting foursome -- will make it. So will Tollefson, a former Giant, and Bryant. The Raiders spent draft choices for DE Crawford and DT Bilukidi, which gives them an edge. DT Cumbie, who spent last year on the practice squad, had an impressive game against Arizona and looks like a keeper. Hamilton, an undrafted rookie from Missouri, may land on the practice squad.

LB -- In: (6) Rolando McClain, Philip Wheeler, Miles Burris, Travis Goethel, Carl Ihenacho, Nathan Stupar. Out: Aaron Curry (PUP), Kaelin Burnett, Chad Kilgore. Analysis: The Raiders have more questions at LB than at any other position. They could be searching the waiver wire for help. It’s likely Curry will begin the season on PUP. Burris, a fourth-round pick from San Diego State, started for Curry the first three games and held up well for a rookie. He’s a lock to make the roster, as are starters McClain and Wheeler. Goethel, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, is McClain’s top backup in the middle. Ihenacho, No. 2 on the depth chart behind Wheeler, has flashed at times as a defensive end in the nickel.

DB -- In: (9) Ron Bartell, Shawntae Spencer, Michael Huff, Tyvon Branch, Matt Giordano, DeMarcus Van Dyke, Mike Mitchell, Pat Lee, Chimdi Chekwa. Out: Bryan McCann, Curtis Taylor, Brandon Underwood, Conroy Black. Analysis: Another deep group. CBs Bartell and Spencer, FS Huff and SS Branch are locks. Backup safeties Giordano, who starts in the nickel, and Mitchell, who’s having a strong camp, appear safe, too. Second-year CB Van Dyke was having a good camp until faltering during the first three games. But the Raiders spent a third-round pick on him, and he should make the roster. CB Lee, a free-agent pickup from Green Bay, has a Super Bowl ring, is solid on special teams and has had a strong camp. That should be enough to earn him a job, although he’s still on the bubble, as is Chekwa, a fourth-round pick last year, who had an interception against Arizona.

Special teams -- In: (4) K Sebastian Janikowski, P Shane Lechler, LS Jon Condo, PR Roscoe Parrish. Out: Marquette King, Eddy Carmona. Analysis: Janikowski and Lechler and Condo are locks. The only way this would change is if Lechler has a setback in his recovery from offseason knee surgery or Janikowski doesn’t recover quickly from his groin injury. Parrish should survive because the team’s top two return men -- Ford and Moore -- are out with injuries.

Follow Raiders reporter Eric Gilmore on Twitter: @CBSSportsNFLOAK.