Jelani Jenkins signs with Raiders

Posted by Josh Alper on March 20, 2017, 4:03 PM EDT
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The Raiders took care of business on a few fronts Monday.

They re-signed long snapper Jon Condo and added EJ Manuel to the roster as a potential backup quarterback. They also announced that they have signed linebacker Jelani Jenkins after he visited with the team.

Jenkins only played nine games with the Dolphins last season because of a knee injury, but was a regular starter in Miami when healthy over the last three years. Jenkins had 227 tackles, 3.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and five passes defensed during his four years with the Dolphins.

The Raiders lost Malcolm Smith as a free agent and Perry Riley remains a free agent, so Jenkins will likely be in the mix for a starting spot in his new home as well.

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21 responses to “Jelani Jenkins signs with Raiders”

  1. Not a bad player when he’s healthy…. which may not be very often. He’s a huge liability in pass coverage, though. Maybe a change of scenery and lining up next to future HOF’er Mack will be good for him.

  3. I’m guessing the numbers were modest. We have a good track record of getting guys in free agendy at LB, having them perform well, then letting some other team throw too much money at them. Phillip Wheeler, Malcolm Smith, etc. My guess is this is the latest project. I’m sure his pay is in line with his experience. I trust Reg.

  4. Reg has done awesome things but addressing the LB position hasn’t been one… to say he has a good track record is delusional.

    Perry Riley played well, but Malcolm Smith was torched week in and week out. Curtis Lofton was a major bust. None of the LBs drafted have performed overly well, either.

  6. Average player when he is healthy, which is not very much of the time. Plus he is a major liability in pass coverage. Thanks for your time in Miami Jelani, but we had to cut you lose to improve out team, and we weren’t doing that with you on our roster.

  7. Liability in pass coverage is all I needed to hear. Have watched TE’s torch the defense for years now, and this guy doesn’t sound like he’s gonna help with that. Keep looking Reggie.

  8. Reg needs to dial in the defense.

    That needs to be the priority.

    The offense looks solid, but let us not forget which side of the ball delivers championships.

    Carry on.

    Go RAIDERS

  9. Cory James may have showed promise but he was benched in favor of Riley and Smith.

    Sure, he’s a sixth round pick so any contribution is solid, but saying he played “well” is generous.

  11. Im a Dolphins fan….I liked Jenkins….but he was an undersized LB that couldn’t stay healthy. Health was his biggest issue. NO kidding ….He had like four or five different types of injuries last season it wasn’t like one thing bothering him. He got publicly criticized by his coaches because of it.

    If he can ever get healthy he can play decent not a pro bowler but decent and can make a play or so.

    Raiders Fans….tell me about this Nate Allen. Is he any good? If you don’t know the Dolphins signed him.

  12. Mis-directions and TE over the middle of the field has been the Achilles heel of the Raiders D for years. I was kind of eyeing AJ Klein but he didn’t even get a sniff.

  15. He is a serviceable LB when healthy. I liked him early on but he did have an annoying habit. To me, it seemed like he looked to get blocked. I mean, you can see the hole a RB could use that he needed to fill or shoot through for the tackle but he instead looked to find a blocker to engage and often engaged a guy who was already blocking another Dolphin. He did that a lot early on. It is less of an issue now but it does still happen and that is no bueno for a veteran LB. Good luck to him and the Raiders

  18. Nate Allen played very well for us. Last season he came in for rookie Jospeh and really played well. He’s a very good tackler especially when u put him in the box, he even got 2 ints last year on limited starts. I wanted him back, to bad free agency took him to Miami.

  20. He’s an average player. He’s best suited as a backup or rotation guy who can come in and start some games for injured players. He will show you why the Dolphins were willing to part with him if he is an everyday starter.

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