When the Las Vegas Raiders drafted offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, the decision was met with no shortage of doubt, as many felt the team was reaching big time for the Alabama product.
And, as it turned out, not only did they reach, the Raiders took a player who had no business being in the NFL at all. After just one lackluster season with the team, Las Vegas cut bait with Leatherwood by waiving him prior to the 2022 campaign.
He was then claimed by the Chicago Bears, who put him on the NFI list after just a few weeks. Leatherwood then had a stint on injured reserve before finally seeing action in four games. He was not brought back the following season.
In 2023, Leatherwood was a member of the Cleveland Browns' practice squad, but he didn't see a single snap over the course of the year and Cleveland did not bring him back, either.
Now, Leatherwood will try his hand with a division rival of the Raiders, as the Los Angeles Chargers signed the free-agent offensive lineman to an undisclosed contract on Wednesday.
welcome aboard
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) May 29, 2024
we’ve signed T alex leatherwood → https://t.co/tBHkqVj3LS pic.twitter.com/sdtRqTeeFA
We would say that there's a possibility Leatherwood will have a revenge game versus his former team, but there is zero guarantee he'll even be on the roster by Week 1, let alone see snaps in a game.