Getty Image / Ethan Miller
The Las Vegas Raiders signed Darwin Thompson today.
He’s the second former Kansas City Chiefs running back they’ve signed in the past couple of days amid uncertainty about Josh Jacobs.
Despite having the NFL’s leading rusher last season, the Las Vegas Raiders are facing some major uncertainty at running back this offseason.
Josh Jacobs has yet to report to the team because of his unhappiness with the fact that the team franchise tagged him and then didn’t work out an extension with him.
It’s not clear when or even if Jacobs will show up to play this year and that has left the Raiders to start putting together a contingency plan in case they have to go into the season without the 1st Team All-Pro.
Yesterday, they picked up Damien Williams, who has bounced around a bit the past couple of years, but spent the most notable seasons of his career playing with the Raiders’ AFC West rivals, the Kansas City Chiefs.
Today, they decided they still needed reinforcements at the position and went out and signed another former Chiefs running back.
According to NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Raiders signed Darwin Thompson today.
For the second straight day, the Raiders have signed a former Chiefs’ RB, this time Darwin Thompson. So it’s Damien Williams on Friday, Thompson on Saturday.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 12, 2023
Thompson was selected in the 6th round by the Chiefs back in 2019 and many fans thought he could potentially break out for a team that didn’t have a clear top option at the position.
That breakout never came and Thompson was released after getting just 64 carries over 2 years for the Chiefs.
Over the last two years, he hasn’t made a regular season roster.
Darwin Thompson is facing a pretty big uphill battle to make the Raiders’ 53-man roster.
Their depth chart is very crowded even if Josh Jacobs chooses not to ever show up this year.
Thompson will need to show something he hasn’t so far in his career if he’s going to make the most of it, but the Las Vegas Raiders’ uncertain RB situation is giving him an opportunity to work his way back onto an NFL roster.