When the Las Vegas Raiders signed Greg Van Roten in May, it didn’t raise many eyebrows.
After all, it was a low-level post-draft signing to add a journeyman veteran offensive lineman to the bottom of the roster. Van Roten was not even expected to make the 53-man roster.
Six months later, he is a true unsung hero of the team as it approaches the finish line.
Van Roten, 33, had a fantastic training camp and easily outperformed the competition at his position. Van Roten has been consistent since the season began. He’s been effective in both pass protection and run blocking.
Van Roten was credited by Raiders running back Josh Jacobs for his game-changing 40-yard run late in the Raiders’ 16-12 win over the New York Jets on Sunday night.
Van Roten has been the league’s second highest graded guard in pass protection, according to Pro Football Focus.
Again, when he was signed, this was not expected.
He is currently in his ninth NFL season. Van Roten, a Penn product, entered the league in 2012 but was out from 2014 to 2016, before returning in 2017 and staying. That is an unusual path for a player to take. He appeared in 16 games for the Buffalo Bills in 2022, starting four. Prior to this season, he had played for four different teams and had 54 starts and 93 games in the league.
Despite this, he started every game in Las Vegas. He has only started one full season, with the Carolina Panthers in 2018. So far in his career, Van Roten has had an outstanding run.
On his one-year, $1.165 million contract, he’s been an excellent value. The Raiders will undoubtedly want him back, but there may be competition if he hits free agency, and he will almost certainly be paid more in 2024 as a result of his strong performance in 2023.
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