The Las Vegas Raiders released running back Kenyan Drake on Tuesday, and the former Alabama star was not surprised — not because the impending deal was widely reported Monday, but because he had seen during training camp that “there really isn’t a role for it. me.”
“I felt like the writing has been on the wall lately, as it has been in the past two to three weeks,” Drake told CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson. “I never felt like I had a good chance of really competing for the job that came out of the injury. After all, that’s business. …
“I feel like as time went on during camp, there really wasn’t a role for me anymore because they had guys bring them in, swap them for, and I was a bit of an odd one out, mostly because I got rid of my injury.”
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Drake ran for 254 yards and two touchdowns on 63 carries and caught 30 passes for 291 yards and one TD in 2021, his only season with the Raiders, before sustaining a broken ankle in a 17-15 loss to the Washington Football Team. December 5. He missed the final five Las Vegas games of the regular season and his 26-19 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the playoffs.
The Raiders signed Drake as a free agent after he ran 955 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Arizona Cardinals in 2020. Drake signed an $11 million two-year contract with Las Vegas, even though the Raiders had another former Crimson Tide running back, Josh Jacobs, who is coming off a Pro Bowl season.
Drake joined Las Vegas when Mike Mayock was the general manager and Jon Gruden the head coach. In the off-season, the Raiders imported leadership from New England, where new general manager Dave Ziegler was the director of player personnel and new head coach Josh McDaniels the offensive coordinator for the Patriots.
Ziegler fielded two running backs and signed two more free agency offseason. Rookies Zamir Smith and Brittain Brown and free-agent acquisitions Ameer Abdullah and Brandon Bolden joined Jacobs and Drake in the Raiders’ running backs room.
Las Vegas chose Georgia’s Smith in the fourth round and UCLA’s Brown in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Abdullah is a former Homewood High School star who also serves as a kick returner, and Bolden is a nine-year veteran who played for McDaniels in New England.
The Raiders released Drake even though they paid him a $5.5 million roster bonus on March 18 and his $2.5 million base salary for the 2022 season is guaranteed.
The Raiders released four players on Tuesday, as NFL teams were forced to reduce their active roster to 80 players for the season.
After being told on Monday that he would be traded or released, Drake wrote on his Instagram account: “I’m at peace with me. I’m learning that I’m not lagging behind in my journey. I (am) thankful for where I’ve been “I am busy with the present and walking by faith towards my future. I am building the life that God and I talk about. I am beginning to see myself as God sees me. I am at peace with me.”
Drake also posted a photo of himself in Las Vegas uniform, writing: “My favorite photo as a Raider is my last. Poetic.” The post was accompanied by Proverbs 4:25: “Keep your head up, your eyes straight ahead, and your focus on what’s ahead.”
Drake, a third-round draft pick in 2016, played his first three seasons with Miami. The Dolphins traded him for the Cardinals midway through the 2019 season.
In 89 NFL regular season games, Drake has 3,384 yards and 29 touchdowns on 758 rushing attempts and 1,535 yards and seven touchdowns on 199 receptions. He also returned 41 kickoffs for a 23.5 yard average and one touchdown.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.
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