David Amerson Cut by Oakland Raiders

On Monday, veteran defensive back David Amerson was released by the Oakland Raiders, which saved the team close to $6 million in its salary cap.

Amerson, who is 26, played only six games during last season. He missed the last eight due to an injured foot. He started 33 games during his three seasons with the Raiders, making six interceptions and defending 46 passes.

Amerson signed an extension of four years prior to the start of the 2016 season. Amerson’s base salary of $5.5 million would have become guaranteed if he was on the team’s roster on Wednesday.

On Monday NFL teams were able to start releasing veterans ahead of the official 2018 NFL year. Amerson was a candidate to be released during the offseason. He was asked before the last game of the 2017 season if he would be coming back in 2018.

He answered that he did not know. Explaining that you never know what will happen in the NFL, as it’s about what you’ve done lately.

Amerson is a former second round pick by the Washington Redskins, who the Raiders claimed in 2015 off waivers. He had hoped to return with the silver and black.

However, after missing a total of just two games during his first three seasons in the NFL, shoulder and foot injuries coupled with a concussion wrecked his 2017 season.

Amerson said he was in the team locker room on October 19 during a game against AFC rivals Kansas City. He was having his upper body checked by team doctors when he noticed that his lower body hurt.

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The cornerback went on to say that just prior to the half they were working on his shoulder when he told team trainers that something was wrong with his foot as it felt weak and had a burning sensation. He never returned to the field for that game or the remainder of the season.

While he was not given a diagnosis for a Lisfranc fracture, which is when one or more of the metatarsal bones becomes displaced from the tarsus, he did suffer ligament damage, said Amerson. He added that he was unable to cut or push off on the foot.

Amerson allowed a passer rating of 156.3, which ranked last in the league amongst 159 cornerbacks that had a minimum of 40 snaps in coverage during the 2018 season.