Raiders Add Will Compton to Banged-Up Linebacker Unit

Veteran linebacker Will Compton is signing with the Las Vegas Raiders. Compton himself announced the signing via Twitter on Tuesday.

The 32-year-old veteran has yet to play a game with any team this season but did play in twelve games with the Tennessee Titans last year and nine games with the Raiders in 2019. Compton showed last year that he can still be a serviceable player, notching 18 tackles and a fumble recovery while with Tennessee.

Compton’s signing comes at a desperate time for the Las Vegas defense. On Monday, interim head coach Rich Bisaccia said linebackers Denzel Perryman (ankle), Cory Littleton (stinger), Nick Kwiatkoski (ankle), and Patrick Onwuasor (hamstring) were all day-to-day. Onwuasor didn’t play Sunday, while the other three linebackers were hurt during the course of the game against Washington.

“We’ll see what injuries do for us as we go through the next few days in practice,” Coach Bisaccia said when asked about the availability of the injured defenders for Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs. “(We will) see who we end up with dressing for us in the game.”

Compton’s signing brings in much-needed experienced depth for Las Vegas. Behind these injured veterans are rookies Divine Deablo and Malcolm Koonce. Both young men saw plenty of action this past Sunday against Washington due to the other linebackers’ injuries and made the most of their opportunities. Deablo registered 11 tackles and Koonce notched a sack despite playing only seven snaps on defense.

“We think Divine (Deablo)’s been coming on in practice all the time and getting a lot more reps certainly at the WILL linebacker,” Bisaccia said when asked about the pair of rookies. “He had a chance to go in there and play for us for a little bit, and we had some injuries. We thought he did a good job, and he kept his role on (special) teams as well.”

“It was good to see Malcolm finally get up there and have a chance to make a play and ends up with a good job on the sack, and he had some punt rushes as well.”

Compton’s signing gives the Raiders some veteran insurance in case any of the injured Las Vegas linebackers are unable to suit up for Sunday’s AFC West tilt against the Chiefs. The Raiders officially signed Compton to the practice squad, and he may be promoted to the active roster pending the status of the team’s injured linebackers.