Steven Heyer, reserve left tackle for the NFL’s Oakland Raiders, is spending a lot of time on the sideline, but at least now it’s for the right reasons. After a rough start with the team, including two injuries and a season opener he would probably like to forget, Heyer’s lack of playing time this week, his second straight week on the sidelines, was not his fault–the people ahead of him just played too darn well.
The Raider offensive line, which was a huge question mark coming into the season, performed exceptionally on Sunday of week three against the vaunted New York Jets defense. They allowed only one sack and helped running back Darren McFadden rack up over 170 yards on the way to their 34-24 victory over the Jets. The man in front of Steven Heyer on the depth chart, Jared Veldheer, played a solid game and gave himself no reason to be looking over his shoulder.
Steven Heyer was signed by the Raiders on August 2nd to a one year, 1.7 million dollar contract. While the 6’6″ 330 pound offensive lineman was essentially brought in as a backup, he opened some eyes early in training camp and took some practice reps with the starting offense. A combination of injuries and other linemen stepping up pushed Heyer back into a reserve tackle role, although some fans and analysts had expressed that it might not be a bad idea to try him at guard, where he might have had a better chance to win a starting role.
Prior to signing with the Raiders, Steven Heyer had been a frequent starter for the Washington Redskins, where he had been signed as an undrafted free agent out of college. He had started some games in each of his four years there, including every game in 2009. He was cut after the 2010 season. He also played well in college at Maryland, having played four years there and started every game for two of those seasons. He went to two bowl games and was selected to the ESPN All-Bowl team in 2006. It would appear that Steven Heyer will need to wait a while longer to have a chance at former glory.