Raiders head coach Pete Carroll was adamant on Thursday that Jackson Powers-Johnson returns to the lineup, he will not be moving to center and is still competing with Alex Cappa for a starting job at right guard.
Since the start of training camp, Powers-Johnson has managed to turn off the coaching staff and based on a report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vinny Bonsignore, the second-year lineman hasn’t received a lot of feedback around what got him here.
“I did talk to Jackson Powers-Johnson, got a chance to talk to Jackson today. He hasn’t gotten any feedback on why he’s in the situation that he’s in,” Bonsignore said on the Vegas Nation First and 10 podcast.
“We all know that he’s been, I guess, singled out… from center, compete for the center job. Nope, we’re going to go with Jordan Meredith. Now you’re going to go over to right guard to compete with Alex Cappa, a competition that Pete Carroll has maintained continues. I mean, those are his words. That’s not happening at left tackle. That’s not happening at left guard. It’s not happening at right tackle.”
“It’s basically Jackson Powers-Johnson who’s been identified as somebody that needs to keep fighting for his job and fighting for playing time,” Bonsignore continued. He has not gotten any feedback from his words to me about why that is, and all he could do is keep putting his best foot forward. He’s open to playing guard, center, defensive line… I would not say that he was happy about it. I could tell. I’ve been doing this a long time.”
Back in August, Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter said Powers-Johnson wasn’t a lock to win the starting job at center, and said the coaching staff wanted Powers-Johnson to be more “technically sound.”
“Watching the way they’re handling Jackson Powers-Johnson, they want more out of him, and they’re trying a lot of different angles, trying a lot of different things,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast.
“Somebody asked me, do you think they’re just trying to manipulate him, to motivate him? I really don’t think that’s it, because he is motivated,” Carpenter continued.
“He doesn’t have to be manipulated. I think they literally just, what you see is what you get. They want more out of him, and they keep talking about Jordan Meredith’s execution at center, and they love Jordan Meredith, and I think they’re looking for him… they want him to be technically sound. Let’s just leave it there. And clearly that’s what they want. They think that he can be more technically sound.”
If “technically sound” was the only area the coaching staff wanted to see Powers-Johnson improve, it’s hard to explain why they would have so much more patience with Cappa and Alex Parham, who have both played poorly in the first three weeks.
Raider Nation Radio host ‘JT the Brick’ talked about the offensive line this week and he brought up Parham as a possibility to be sent to the bench this week.
“If they want to bench Dylan Parham, bench him for a game, and bring in or move [Alex] Cappa over there or do something, they can do that. Dylan Parham deserves to be benched, in my opinion,” JT said on his Raider Nation Radio show. “I think Dylan Parham could be a good player. What has happened to him?”
“There are literally plays where someone lines up in front of him, and then no one’s in front of him and he doesn’t pick anybody up, and three guys are in the backfield.”
For what it’s worth, Powers-Johnson played six games at guard in 2024 and his average Pro Football Focus grade in those games was 54.6. In eight games at center in 2024, his average was 60.5.
That’s not a huge discrepancy, but enough to wonder why the new coaching staff seems so adamantly against Powers-Johnson returning to center anytime soon.
For now, Carroll’s coaching resume is enough that he deserves the benefit of the doubt on personnel decisions, but if the offensive line doesn’t start playing like a competent unit soon, the questions for the coaching staff aren’t going to get any easier to answer.
x: @raidersbeat
I think there’s two things to consider. 1. JPJ hasn’t played all that well so far in his career. 2. If the veterans haven’t been better, why wouldn’t you go with the young guy who might have some upside?
But I do think some of the controversy has been caused by the fact that JPJ was collectively overrated going into the season where I think most people saw him as a good, building block type of player and maybe the play on the field never justified that.
When he moved to center last year he graded out in the top half. Granted it wasn’t a full season, but he was also a rookie. There’s not one person besides Pete/Brennan that think Capps is better than him
The bottom line is that the game has passed Pete by. He sounds like someone that dosn’t have the answers needed and only hoping that things work out. The confidence in his voice he had when he took the job is all but gone now, just 4 weeks in. Buckle up Raiders fans. Sunday could be really ugly if the Bears play anything like they did against Dallas. He said in his press conference, “we have what we have”. Not a real vote of confidence in the team he had a huge hand in putting together. Looking at the schedule I wouldn’t be surprised if Raiders didn’t win 5 games. The more looming question will be is Mark Davis forced to make another coaching change after one year.
Pretty obvious that the next change needed is that of the OWNERSHIP!
I think deep down inside Mark knows that he’s a complete moron, but his ego(completely unwarranted) keeps him from selling
The OL was weak last season. Apparently, they thought bringing in a coach without NFL experience would remedy the situation. Unless the OL play improves overnight, the season is lost. I saw this coming when they failed to address the OL personnel issue during the offseason. Critical misjudgment of talent by Brady’s group. Dark cloud still hovering over this team!
Brennan Carroll needs to get fired. JPJ has been the least of our problems on the O line. Meredith at C has been a disaster, Parham is a human turnstile, Cappa shouldn’t even be in the NFL, Glaze looks totally lost.
To single out JPJ and then leave him in the dark about why he’s singled out indicates the problem is with the coaching staff.
Fire Brennan Carroll!
Another dysfunctional coaching staff to go along with dysfunctional ownership. You would think after all these years of ineptitude and incompetence they would finally pull their heads out of their a**h***es but all they succeed in doing is alienating their diehard fans. At least I’m old enough to have seen them in their heyday. The former Raider greats have to be just as sickened as their fans.
FIRE OLD MAN PETE !!!! THE GUY IS LIKE 90 !!!!!
Another great hire by Mark Davis and the best buddy Mark could hire to be his friend in Tom Brady. This was to be expected if you’ve paid any attention to Pete’s Hawks teams. One has to wonder how much longer until we hear of Assistant coaches blaming the other in a unnamed source. It’s Chip’s fault or it’s those **** Carroll’s. Meredith is 85% of the time either missing a block or calling wrong protections. And if it’s not a wrong protection call then it’s 3 or 4 Raiders all screwing up on the same play. I’d didn’t care for the JPJ pick but he’s got more talent than Meredith by miles.
Mark is the worst owner in sports. This idiot is nothing but a fan boy who was dumb enough to put Tom Brady in charge of the team. I want an owner who’s an entrepreneur & can make smart decisions. The Buss family gave up & this is after winning a championship. Sell Mark
Only a coaching staff led by the Joe Biden of NFL coaches could take the college Remington award winner and make him play guard. Take a guard, who’s never played Center and make him.play Center. Take a guy who played at RG last season, and then move him to LG.
Make it make sense. Carroll is putting his ego ahead of the team by protecting his worthless son who had no NFL experience before Pete hired him.
Carroll is nothing more than a cheerleader at this point.
I don’t get it kappa sucks!
Hint! Kappa played for Spytek in Tampa. Spytek is Brady’s buddy.
Pete Carroll needs to reevaluate that offensive line, it sucks! The center isn’t a good center and Alex Cappa sucks as a guard. Pete Carroll has gone goofy and I can’t believe the Pete Carroll and John Spytek let go of the Raiders good linebackers and brought in some bargain deal linebackers. The defense doesn’t look good at all and again Max Cosby is being double and triple team because the rest of the defense sucks! The offensive could be better if the offensive line knew how to block but they don’t. Peter Carroll needs to get off his high horse and start reevaluating his coaches especially the offensive line coach. And Spytek needs to find some more players cause the ones he’s gotten have sucked