HENDERSON, Nev. -- Las Vegas Raiders offensive lineman Denzelle Good, who was returning from a torn ACL in his left knee and was expected to reclaim his starting job at right guard, retired suddenly on Monday, less than a week after the start of training camp.
The retirement of Good, 31, weakens an already suspect offensive line that contributed to quarterback Derek Carr getting sacked 40 times last season, the second-highest total of his career. After Good went down in the season-opening win over the Baltimore Ravens, first-round pick Alex Leatherwood was moved to right guard from right tackle in Week 5.
With a new coach in Josh McDaniels, Leatherwood has been splitting reps at right tackle with Brandon Parker early in camp, with third-rounder Dylan Parham, the Raiders' first draft pick this season, and Lester Cotton Sr. getting extended looks at right guard.
"Yeah, obviously they're getting better," Carr said of the O-line last week. "It's a different scheme, so there's growing pains through the offseason ... but, I mean, you can definitely tell that they're getting better. That whole room is working hard. I mean, when the second line challenges the first line, they're all interchanging."
Good, a seventh-round draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 2015, was referred to as the team MVP in 2020 by Carr and then-coach Jon Gruden. Good started 43 of 62 career games, 23 of 36 with the Raiders. He took a massive pay cut last week, going from $3.1 million salary to $1.035 million with $425,000 in incentives, per ESPN's Field Yates.
Las Vegas re-signed guard Jordan Meredith, who signed with the Raiders in February before being waived on July 20, in the wake of Good's retirement.