The Los Vegas Raiders offensive line has been better than expected, but it’s not a great group yet. Quarterback Derek Carr has only been caught nine times this season. There have been 12 more quarterbacks who have been captured.
However, there is still concern about the offensive line. Pro Football Focus has the Raiders ranked as the 28th offensive line in the NFL. They have shown signs of progress in recent weeks, but the two guard posts are the main concerns. Rookie Dylan Parham seems to be the answer as a right guard, but the left guard is still up in the air. Alex Bars have started two games for the Raiders this season but have a PFF rating of 35.3. The team can certainly do better. Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report believes the team could hire Chicago Bears guard Michael Schofield in a trade for a last-round pick:
However, Michael Schofield stands out as a possible exception. The guard played 907 plays last season, allowing just two sacks and earning a respectable 66.8 PFF rating.
The 31-year-old is currently on the Chicago Bears roster, but he has yet to see any action.
With the Bears in a full rebuild, it would be worthwhile for the Raiders to at least call to see if a Day 3 pick could be enough to entice them to send him to Las Vegas.
Schofield is a Super Bowl champion
Schofield isn’t a big name, but he’s a solid veteran. He has started 81 games in his career and even has a Super Bowl ring. He was selected by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He quickly earned a starting spot and was part of the 2015 Broncos team that won the Super Bowl.
Since then, he has bounced quite a bit in the league and has played for the Los Angeles Chargers, Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens. It has never had a PFF rating above 72.0, but it has always been able to stay above 50.0. That’s at least better than what Bars is bringing to the Raiders. He doesn’t start for the Bears and only makes $1.1 million this season. It should be easy to get it in a trade if Las Vegas wants to.
The #Raiders offensive line dominated yesterday, just as it has for most of the year. But it was in sight because we ran the ball more. Josh Jacobs is also pretty good with the way he makes people get lost. pic.twitter.com/qDtfDbNwYe
— Sanjit T. (@Sanjit__T) October 3, 2022
Bars talks about his promotion to the starting lineup
Bars spent most of the offseason and training camp with the Raiders but did not make it to the team during the final cuts to the roster. He was brought back through the practice team and now has the opportunity to play meaningful replays.
“On the practice team, I worked every day to be on the active list at an early position. I was preparing every day to get to that point,” Bars said, via Raiders.com. “Studying the tape, preparing as if I were starting, doing more in the weight room, doing my best to make sure I was ready for the time of the game.”
“Alex has been a constant collaborator for us here over the past few weeks,” McDaniels said recently. “He’s had a lot of effort, a great mentality and attitude all the time he’s been here, and he constantly tries to work on his craft. I think it has given us a reliable game there. It’s been quite physical. The communication on the left side has been pretty good.”
