Last Thursday was not a good day for former 2016 first-round pick Karl Joseph. The Oakland Raiders picked what appears to be his future replacement at the position in Johnathan Abram, and Mike Mayock declined to comment on whether or not the team will pick up his fifth-year option by the end of this week.
For those reasons, it’s not hard to connect the dots and assume that Joseph may be on his way out in Oakland.
In a recent piece on ESPN, Bill Barnell named one post-draft cut or trade candidate for every team, and he named Joseph as a player the Raiders could potentially move over the summer. Take a look at Barnwell’s explanation below:
Every Raiders player who was acquired before Jon Gruden came to town is on perpetually thin ice. That’s doubly true for Joseph, who hasn’t lived up to expectations since the Raiders drafted him in the first round in 2016. Gruden’s starting safeties in 2019 will likely be Lamarcus Joyner and first-round pick Johnathan Abram, and though Joseph could theoretically feature if the Raiders go with a big nickel look and play three safeties at a time, I wouldn’t count on the Raiders making him a priority this offseason. They might even consider declining Joseph’s fifth-year option later this week.
Joseph played the best football of his career in the second half of the 2018 season, but injuries and inconsistent play have derailed his career so far. Would it be shocking if the Raiders entertained trade offers over the next several weeks? Absolutely not.
However, expect the Raiders to hold onto Joseph for the 2019 season as they likely ease Abram into a starting role. Expect Joseph to hit the free agent market in 2020 and play elsewhere next season.
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