Tight end Jared Cook had the catch of the year for the Packers. He parlayed that into a free-agent deal with the Raiders.
He has not yet parlayed that into a starting job.
Cook appears as the No. 2 tight end on the first unofficial depth charter of the year, behind Lee Smith. A veteran who appeared in only four games last year due to injury, Smith recently took a pay cut to stay with the Raiders. Cook, who signed a two-year, $10.6 million deal, is due to make considerably more.
Elsewhere on offense, Marshall Newhouse is the starting left tackle, with Donald Penn still holding out. And (surprise) Marshawn Lynch is the starting tailback.
On defense, cornerback Sean Smith recently wasn’t even the nickel corner during an intrasquad scrimmage. He’s now back in the starting lineup. Smith, along with David Amerson, are the top two cornerbacks. Amerson sits one spot ahead of rookie first-rounder Gareon Conley.
Undrafted rookie Breon Borders, who played nickel during the scrimmage, lands in the “other” category at fourth string, or worse.
So who knows what any of this means? Jared Cook surely hopes it means nothing.
