JOSH DUBOW
AP Sports Writer
ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — The Oakland Raiders cut receiver Greg Little, safety Brandian Ross and 20 other players Saturday to reduce their roster to the 53-man limit.
Little impressed early in training camp but struggled in recent weeks in practice and exhibition games, leading to his release. Brice Butler made the team ahead of Little after catching four touchdown passes in the exhibition season.
Ross started 13 games last season in place of injured Tyvon Branch but ended up getting beaten out for a roster spot as a reserve safety this year by rookie Jonathan Dowling and veteran Usama Young.
Running back Jeremy Stewart, a key special teams player, and defensive end Jack Crawford, a 2012 fifth-round pick, were also released.
The other most notable cut was undrafted free agent running back, George Atkinson III, the son of former Raiders defensive back George Atkinson. The younger Atkinson could be a prime candidate to make the team’s 10-player practice squad, which can be formed Sunday.
The Raiders kept their entire eight-player draft class, including seventh-round defensive lineman Shelby Harris, who did not play college football last season after being kicked off the team at Illinois State.
Harris beat out Crawford, Ryan Robinson, Denico Autry and Ricky Lumpkin as Oakland’s eighth defensive lineman. With the release of Crawford, the Raiders are left with just two of the six players general manager Reggie McKenzie selected in his first draft in Oakland in 2012.
Guard Tony Bergstrom, Oakland’s top pick that year at No. 95 overall, stayed on the team as the ninth offensive lineman. Bergstrom missed all last year on injured reserve with a foot injury.
Among the other notable players to make the team was cornerback Neiko Thorpe, who was signed to a futures contract out of the Canadian Football League in January.
The other players cut Saturday were cornerback Chance Casey; offensive linemen Jack Cornell, Dan Kistler, Erle Ladson, Lamar Mady and Jarrod Shaw; linebackers Carlos Fields, Bojay Filimoeatu, and Spencer Hadley; tight ends Jake Murphy and Scott Simonson; receiver Seth Roberts; kicker Giorgio Tavecchio; and fullback Karl Williams.
___
Online:
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
