Irish in the NFL: Former Notre Dame football running back cut by Raiders
Former Notre Dame football star Theo Riddick was cut by the Las Vegas Raiders, as teams trimmed their rosters down to 53 players last week.
One of the most important players on the 2012 Notre Dame football team, Theo Riddick, was cut by the Las Vegas Raiders. This came as rosters looked to trim down to their 53 man format, which is the amount a NFL team can carry into the NFL season.
Despite being a solid NFL running back, who also excelled as a receiver out of the backfield, Riddick’s career may be showing signs of coming to the end. He missed all of 2019, with a shoulder injury. Now, with Las Vegas cutting him, he’ll need to find a home quickly if he wants to play in 2020.
If he doesn’t land with a new team in 2020, we’ll likely never see Riddick in the NFL again. It’s a simple fact that running backs have shorter careers than most other positions, and teams don’t want to bother with a back whose body is starting to break down.
With that being said, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a team who has a gap at running back bring in Riddick to see what’s left on the tires. If he can still be productive for a team who needs him to fill a particular role, as the receiving back, then he’ll have the opportunity to revive his career.
The Jacksonville Jaguars would make sense for Riddick in 2020. They recently moved on from Leonard Fournette, and Ryquell Armstead is on the COVID-19 list for the second time this season. Riddick would act as depth for a team who doesn’t have much left at running back and isn’t looking to spend big.
Whether this is the end or he is able to extend his career, Riddick has been an incredibly fun running back to watch since his time at Notre Dame to his seven seasons with the Detroit Lions. Over the course of his NFL career, he has had 1,023 yards rushing and 2,238 yards receiving. To go along with that yardage, Riddick has scored a total of 19 touchdowns over the course of his career.
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Despite being with the Denver Broncos in 2019, and now the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020, Theo Riddick has never played for an NFL team, besides the Detroit Lions.