Raiders Signed Center Hroniss Grasu to the Active Roster

The Las Vegas Raiders have signed offensive lineman Hroniss Grasu to the active roster.

The signing was officially announced on Saturday, days after their dreadful loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football.

Grasu, who has spent all season on the Raiders practice squad, was activated to the main roster on Thursday to serve as a backup to the interior of the offensive line.

With injuries and roster moves, Grasu could come in and help fill in the gaps on the offensive line.

Grasu came into the NFL by the Chicago Bears in the third round (71st overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft, after playing two full seasons at Oregon (2013-2015).

After bouncing around with a few teams, Grasu was signed to the Raiders practice squad back in Oct. 2021.

Grasu hasn’t seen much action over the last couple of seasons.

His last true appearance was in Week 11 of the 2020 season, where he played two offensive snaps as a member of the San Francisco 49ers and five snaps on special teams in Week 15 of that same season.

In the corresponding move, the Raiders have waived guard John Simpson.

The former fourth-round pick started all 17 games last season, but was relegated from the starting lineup after the second week of this season.

Simpson had entered his third season with the Silver and Black, making 21 career starts in 35 games.

After sitting on the bench all season, Simpson saw action (56 snaps) in Thursday's game in Los Angeles in relief of starter Alex Bars who went down with a knee injury in the first quarter.

The release comes as a surprise as the Raiders are thin at the depth chart after having three offensive lineman on injured reserve; tackle Brandon Parker, guard Lester Cotton, and tackle Justin Herron.

To make things worse, Simpson’s departure leaves cornerback Amik Robertson as the lone member selected from the team’s 2020 draft class.

A draft class that included Henry Ruggs III, Damon Arnette, Lynn Bowden, Bryan Edwards, and Tanner Muse.