The Oakland Raiders have waived safety Jonathan Dowling, the team announced via Twitter just moments ago. The move was unexpected, with noted writer Vic Tafur reacting on Twitter that the move “came out of nowhere.” The move is a bit of a departure from Reggie McKenzie’s policy of holding on to his draft picks: Dowling was a 7th round pick just last year, and had been hailed by some in the media as a steal and expected to be a good special teams player.
Dowling didn’t see the field often last season, appearing in only 7 games and managing 4 tackles, but had played a lot of safety in preseason action so far this year.