Ten months ago, David Amerson was a struggling corner who couldn't keep a job. Now, he's a starting defensive back who just got a huge raise while playing for a team that many people consider a dark horse playoff contender in 2016.
Before we talk about that though, let's get back to that whole struggling thing.
Back in September, the Redskins cut Amerson after he had spent just two full seasons with the team. At the time, Redskins coach Jay Gruden felt that the 2013 second-round pick wasn't being consistent enough.
"It hurts, you want all your draft picks obviously," Gruden said in September. "You want to build your team within the draft obviously. Unfortunately not all of them are going to hit."
Even though the Redskins released Amerson, Gruden did admit that he saw some potential in the corner.
"He might be a great player somewhere else in the next year or so," Gruden said. "His career is not over by a long shot. He's going to go somewhere else and play and probably play well."
Gruden might want to get a side job as a fortune teller because that's exactly what happened.
After Amerson was released, the Raiders rolled the dice on him, and as it turns out, the move has paid off big time for everyone involved.
It paid off for Amerson because the Raiders rewarded him with a huge contract extension on Friday. According to NFL.com, the new deal is worth $38 million over four years, and includes $18 million in guaranteed money.
The $9.5 million average is a slight raise over the $880,000 base salary that Amerson was scheduled to be paid in 2016 under his old deal.
It's not often that a player earns a huge contract just 10 months after being cut, but Amerson managed to do it in Oakland, where he became a starter almost right away. The cornerback joined the Raiders with just 14 games left in the regular season last year and ended up starting 12 of those.
Being cut by the Redskins seems to be what spurred Amerson to success in Oakland.
"Just the biggest thing, is the chip on my shoulder, man," Amerson told the Washington Post in December. "I had to be mentally strong and know that I was going to get another shot elsewhere. It happened to be here."
The 2013 second-round pick still isn't sure why the Redskins cut him. Amerson started a total of 32 games, and played in 31, after being drafted by Washington in 2013.
"When I talked to the coaches, I mean, they didn't really know, either, to be honest," Amerson said. "I don't know if it was something from a higher power or what the case was. But I just accepted it and moved on with it. I still don't know to this day."
One team's trash turned out to another team's treasure for the Raiders. Amerson is now locked in as a starting corner in a Raiders secondary that will include newly signed cornerback Sean Smith and newly drafted safety Karl Joseph.
Amerson totaled four interceptions in 14 games for the Raiders last season, which twice as many as he had with the Redskins. In 31 games with Washington, Amerson only picked off two career passes.
