Shannon Sharpe Doesn’t Hold Back on Raiders Firing of Chip Kelly
The Las Vegas Raiders slipped to 2-9 after a 24-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 12, continuing a season in which their offense has rarely found its footing. The group has spent most of the year near the bottom of the league in scoring.
Las Vegas have been held under 20 points in five of its last seven outings, a stretch that has fueled its current five-game slide. With the unit showing little progress,
“I spoke with Chip Kelly earlier this evening and informed him of his release as offensive coordinator of the Raiders,” Carroll said in the statement. “I would like to thank Chip for his service and wish him all the best in the future.”
With the Raiders ending the Kelly era after 11 games, former NFL player Shannon Sharpe didn’t hold back on his take when reacting to the news.
“[The Raiders] paid a lot of money,”
“If that works, but you go ahead and try to change guys that have been doing stuff there [for their football career]. Because remember, the first thing he did [was] ask Ashton Jeanty to put his hands on his side. The man had been standing up [his] whole [football career].”
Former Raiders Coach Chip Kelly Reacts to His Firing
After Las Vegas fired Kelly, FOX Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer spoke with Kelly and relayed the coach’s reaction to the Raiders’ decision to make a change.
“I am grateful for the opportunity with the Raiders, bottom line in this league you have to win,“ Kelly said on November 23, per Glazer. “I really loved those players, I’m a huge, HUGE Geno Smith fan, that was one of the best parts of this experience for me, working with Geno and those guys every day. But hey, we gotta win. I get it.”
Raiders’ Offense Gave Up 10 sacks in Chip Kelly’s Last Game
Las Vegas leaned on the air attack once more, with Geno Smith connecting on 30 of his 44 throws for 285 yards and a touchdown. That approach came with a steep price, though, because the protection broke down throughout the night,
Despite all the drop-backs, the extra passing did not spark the scoring, and the Raiders finished with only 10 points. It marked their fifth consecutive defeat for the Silver and Black. Following the loss to the Browns, Smith met with reporters and walked through the
“It’s really on me,“ Smith said about getting sacked on 10 occasions. “I got to make better plays, find a way… I wasn’t counting the plays or the sacks, so that’s new information to me; I was just trying to go out there and execute and try to get the job done. In the first half, it looked like there were maybe two separate plays where there was some miscommunication and not everyone knew what the play was.”
The Raiders now turn their attention to a Week 13 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers, aiming to finish the season on a positive note with someone else running the offense.
Lions Part Ways With Former Starting Safety in Abrupt Roster Move
The Detroit Lions were forced to turn to a group of little-known defensive backs to lead their secondary amid a flurry of injuries this season, with the group even earning the nickname “Legion of Whom” for their relative anonymity in the NFL.
But the Lions have started to get some key players back, and one of the fill-in defensive backs is looking for a new home. The team announced that safety Erick Hallett had been released from the active roster, making way for some returning players.
The release came just hours before the Lions kicked off against the New York Giants in a game with big playoff implications.
Former Sixth-Round Pick Saw First NFL Action This Season
Hallett came into the NFL as a sixth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2023, but got his first NFL experience this year when he appeared in two games for the Lions with one start. He made a total of eight tackles in that time, with opposing quarterbacks targeting him nine times and completing six of those passes for 75 yards.
Hallett came up big in a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, part of a group that drew praise from defensive coordinator Kelvin Shappard.
“The ‘Legion of Whom,’ they introduced themselves to the NFL,” Sheppard said,
Sheppard added that the group of fill-ins did well stopping Tampa’s strong passing game, and mentioned Hallett by name when praising the group.
“For them to not only get that opportunity but make the most of it — Erick Hallett, Art Maulet, Tyrus Wheat — the names go on and on of guys who went out and not only played and held the line, but put some pressure on some of our starters,” he said.
The Lions can still bring Hallett back to the practice squad, where he started this season before earning a call-up to the active roster in October.
Lions Get Back on Track With Big Win
The Lions jumped back to the top of the NFC North with a gritty win over the Giants on Sunday, battling back after trailing for the majority of the game and winning 34-27 in overtime.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell said the team took some calculated risks and were lucky to see things fall their way. The Giants also rolled the dice, including a fourth-down attempt when they could have kicked a field goal to extend their lead to six points late in the game, but saw it backfire on them.
“That very easily — a number of times — could’ve gone the other way, but it didn’t,” Campbell said. “We made the plays we had to make.”
