Analyzing Raiders rookie OG Caleb Rogers' debut in Week 13

The Las Vegas Raiders finally played rookie guard Caleb Rogers in Sunday's Week 13 defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers. Fans had been calling for Rogers' debut in recent weeks. Instead, Pete Carroll preferred to shuffle his offensive line, inserting Will Putnam into the lineup at center, moving Jordan Meredith to guard.

Meredith recently suffered an injury, leaving Carroll almost no choice but to finally insert Rogers in the lineup. There was a catch. Rogers split snaps at guard versus the Chargers with veteran blocker Atonio Mafi. Carroll just stubbornly refuses to fully commit to his rookie guard.

Mafi actually dominated snaps, earning 31. Rogers had to settle for 17 plays. The Texas Tech standout allowed just one pressure in pass protection, according to Pro Football Focus. Rogers was even better as a run blocker, per PFF, earning a score of 68.6 in that department. He also played a clean game, as he was not whistled for a penalty.

It was a stellar debut for Rogers, which makes Carroll's decision-making in recent weeks all that more frustrating. Hopefully the 98th overall selection in the 2025 NFL draft earned some goodwill with Carroll. The next step would be for Rogers to earn a complete workload.

This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Analyzing Raiders rookie OG Caleb Rogers' debut in Week 13