Devontae Booker wins Raiders backup RB battle

With running backs William Stanback and Rod Smith both cut recently, the Raiders backup running back competition was down to veterans Devontae Booker and Theo Riddick. A competition that was tight and would come down to the wire according to offensive coordinator Greg Olson.

“It’s been very good,” Olson said Friday of the backup running back battle. “A lot of tough decisions are going to be made here in the next 24 hours. I think the running back position is one of them, but just great competition across the board.”

According to a source, as of Friday, Devontae Booker was a “lock” for the roster. And as of Saturday, that was confirmed with ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez reporting that Riddick had been released.

Riddick is entering his seventh year in the NFL and excelled as a receiver out of the backfield for the Detroit Lions the past six seasons. That role is filled on the Raiders by Jalen Richard alone as the team has also reportedly traded rookie third-round pick Lynn Bowden Jr to the Dolphins.

This leaves just the job of the change-up back to starter Josh Jacobs. That job now belongs to Booker.

The 5-11, 219-pound back spent his first four NFL seasons in Denver. He has averaged 3.8 yards per carry in his career and has seen his production go down each season since his rookie year. But with the decrease in workload, his yards per carry has increased. He has averaged 5.3 yards per carry the past two seasons, but on just 36 carries.

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