The Las Vegas Raiders have made a trend out of bringing in former LA Chargers. Whether it be players, assistant coaches, general managers, or former head coaches who have been retired for years, the Raiders have a real love for bringing in former Chargers.
While some of these moves ended up working out for the Raiders, most of them have failed. Players like Tyrell Williams, Casey Hayward, Jerry Tillery and several others went to Vegas and disappointed. Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley went to the Raiders and didn't last.
Now the Raiders are embroiled in the first year with former Chargers GM Tom Telesco running the show and it has been a disaster. Las Vegas is in contention for the first-overall pick and Antonio Pierce may not make it past the 2024 season.
The Raiders probably need to find a different strategy as the team has been forced time and time again to admit defeat on these former Chargers. On Monday, the silver and black admitted defeat yet again, cutting ties with former Chargers speedster Jalen Guyton.
We have released WR Jalen Guyton from the practice squad. pic.twitter.com/TULUPOKfXH
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) November 18, 2024
Raiders release former Chargers wide receiver Jalen Guyton from practice squad
Guyton was never going to reinvent the offense in Las Vegas as he was merely a flier signing for the Raiders. However, the Raiders cutting bait with Guyton is still a sad look even if it was a minor move without expectations.
Instead of taking a flier on any other receiver in the league the Raiders decided to take a chance on Guyton, presumably because he was a former Charger and was familiar with Telesco. This former Chargers agenda set the Raiders up for failure as any Bolts fan could have predicted Guyton would not pan out based on how he looked after tearing his ACL.
This is also an indictment on Telesco as a GM. For 11 years Chargers fans had to suffer through Telesco swinging and missing on every flier he would take. Meanwhile, in Joe Hortiz's first year as Chargers' GM, the team has hit on fliers such as Kristian Fulton, Elijah Molde, Teair Tart, and several others.
Telesco's list of successful fliers may be shorter than Hortiz's despite having the job for 10 more years than Hortiz has.
The Raiders have long been one of the worst-run teams in the sport and as long as the team keeps up this agenda that will continue to be the case. Former Chargers failures, especially in the front office, are not going to lead Las Vegas to the Promised Land.