The Las Vegas Raiders announced a couple of roster transactions on Tuesday, placing cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly on injured reserve and signing cornerback Chigozie Anusiem from the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad.
Kelly had to be carted off the field last Sunday against the Denver Broncos, suffering a knee injury that has since been reported as a ruptured patella tendon. So, it was expected that he was going to be placed on injured reserve, especially with just four games left on the schedule.
That created an extra roster spot and room to sign Anusiem, an undrafted free agent in 2024 who has spent stints with the Washington Commanders, Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals. The La Habra, California native began last season on the Commanders’ practice squad before being claimed by and appearing in one game for the Browns. In that contest, he only participated in 13 total snaps (eight on defense, five on special teams) and didn’t record a statistic, per Pro Football Reference.
Anusiem was cut by Cleveland at the end of training camp this summer and has spent the regular season on Arizona’s practice squad until now. The 25-year-old could have a chance to compete for playing time over the next month, since the Raiders have only played three cornerbacks on the outside this season, with Kelly receiving the second-most snaps of the bunch. However, the expectation is that Darien Porter will step into a larger role moving forward. Porter has started five out of the team’s last six games and was rotating with Kelly before the latter’s injury.
Also, second-year pro Decamerion Richardson would presumptively be ahead of Anusiem on the depth chart, though Richardson has yet to record a defensive snap this season. With Greedy Vance getting called up last week, the defense now has six cornerbacks on the active roster: Eric Stokes, Porter, Richardson, Vance, Darnay Holmes and Anusiem.
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