Christian Ponder was brought to Oakland to backup and mentor Derek Carr, and Taylor Mays was looking for a fresh start to rejuvenate his career; now neither is wearing Silver and Black, both casualties of the team having to cut down their roster to 53 players by 1:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
Ponder signed with the Raiders in mid-March in a move that reunited him with offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave and presumably slotted him as the No. 2 quarterback behind Carr.
As Training Camp 2015 and the preseason wore on, the veteran quarterback remained entrenched as Carr’s backup but failed to dazzle during games, and former undrafted free agent Matt McGloin took full advantage.