Report: Raiders View Kolton Miller As “Solid Option” At Left Tackle Right Away

The Raiders have a few good reasons to hope Kolton Miller will live up to his draft position as soon as possible.

There’s always pressure to “hit” on a first-round pick, but given where most believed Miller would be drafted (late first, early second round), the Raiders might feel a little added pressure to prove the pick was a good one. Then there’s the fact that 35 year-old Donald Penn is returning from injury, and right now the Raiders can’t be sure of what he has left – especially coming back from the foot injury he suffered in December.

If for any reason Penn doesn’t win the starting job this year, the Raiders can save around $5 million by letting him go. So you can be sure Jon Gruden and company would love to see Miller take the job and the team’s thinking right now, according to Matt Schneidman who covers the Raiders for the Mercury News, is that Miller will be capable of starting at left tackle week one.

“Thrust into the first-team left tackle role with Donald Penn out, Miller has held his own against Bruce Irvin and Arden Key,” Schneidman reported from training camp last week.

“Key has executed his spin move to perfection twice on Miller, but the rookie left tackle is impressing the vets around him as he shoulders a hefty load here in Napa. If Penn doesn’t start Week 1 against the Rams for whatever reason, the Raiders feel Miller is a solid option that will only improve on Carr’s blindside.”

Unless Miller goes belly up in the preseason (or Penn absolutely dominates), there’s a good chance the Raiders will approach Penn about taking less money. Penn held the leverage a year ago when he held out and now the Raiders can (and probably will) put the squeeze on him in a few weeks by threatening to release the veteran left tackle if he doesn’t take a pay cut.

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