The Raiders had seven players who played at least 240 snaps on special teams during the 2016 season and five of them are no longer on the roster as a result of free agency or the team’s decision to move in other directions.
A sixth is reportedly going to be off the field for a while. Safety Keith McGill injured his foot during Saturday’s practice and Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that he suffered a Jones fracture. He is expected to have surgery to repair the injury and will be out indefinitely.
McGill was a 2014 fourth-round pick by the Raiders and played every game for the team last season. He made a couple of starts, but only played 147 defensive snaps as he continued to make most of his contributions to the team on special teams.
That looks like the outlook for this season as well, although McGill’s recovery timeline will determine how quickly he can resume his role in the kicking game.