The Oakland Raiders are seriously thin at the linebacker position. Not only have the starting backers not played up to par so far this season, there is very little depth behind them. One of their more promising back ups, Travis Goethel, sustained a season ending injury back in August and on Saturday, the man they signed to replace him, Ricky Brown, was placed on the injured reserve this past Saturday.
Add to those problems, the fact that Rolando McClain injured his ankle in the Houston Texans game, and there is real cause for concern with the backer group. As a result, the Raiders worked out two linebackers earlier this week, Kevin Malast and Prescott Burgess. Malast has yet to see time in a regular season game since he entered the NFL back in 2009. He has spent time with the Chicago Bears and the Tennessee Titans. Burgess, on the other hand, has played in 38 regular season games, all as a back up. He has spent time with the Baltimore Ravens and the New England Patriots.
While neither player is likely to make a huge impact for the Raiders, they would add depth to a position desperately in need of it. On first glance, it would appear that Burgess would be the better candidate as he not only has more playing experience than Malast, and he played with one of the better linebacking corps in the league with the Baltimore Ravens.