Former first-round pick
Karl Joseph could be seeing his time in the Silver and Black end after the 2019 season.
Thursday night, the Raiders used the 27th overall pick to select safety
Johnathan Abram out of Mississippi State. The hard-hitting defender was viewed as a top prospect in the class, and general manager Mike Mayock and head coach
Jon Gruden were unwilling to let him slip through their grasp. He now joins a safety room that includes Erik Harris,
Lamarcus Joyner,
Jordan Richards, and Joseph.
Of course, drafting Abram also brings about questions about Joseph's future with the team. He is entering the final year of his rookie deal but is eligible for a fifth-year option due to being a first-round pick in 2016. However, when Mayock was asked about his safety's status with the team and his contract option, the GM simply said, "
I think that's a conversation we'll have with Karl." He wouldn't comment beyond that statement.
Back on March 4,
Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the Raiders intended to pick up the fifth-year option on Karl Joseph’s contract. The 2016 first-round pick from West Virginia only played just 10 snaps in the first six games in 2018 but started the final eight games of the year, tallying 48 combined tackles (34 solo), two sacks, and one interception.
He was all over the field during the Christmas Eve victory against the Broncos and looked exactly like the franchise-building talent that the Raiders hoped for during the 2016 NFL Draft.
According to Jon Gruden, Joseph turned a corner at the end of the season and became an integral part of the team.
“
Karl Joseph has asserted himself as a leader on our football team, and those are two young guys that we are going to count on.”
Now, however, the opinion on Joseph appears to be changing in the Raiders' front office. Will he see his time with the team come to an end early due to the new draft picks in town? Whether the decision to select Abram has an effect on Joseph's status with the team remains to be seen, but the Oakland Raiders are running out of time to make the decision.
The deadline for exercising fifth-year options is May 3, which is next Friday. If Mayock and Gruden don't make a decision, Joseph will play out the final year of his rookie deal and will then be a prime candidate for free agency in 2020.
Of course, the duo could simply be giving Joseph a warning about his future. If he doesn't produce and continue to grow into a trusted starter in 2019, he will be out the door and headed for a different team. The Raiders already have a replacement in town, so parting ways won't be difficult.
Article by “247 Sports “
