Raiders LT Kolton Miller on C Andre James: 'He's come along a great way'

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The riskiest move the Raiders made this offseason was trading away Pro Bowl center Rodney Hudson for just a third-round pick. Hudson had started 92 games for the Raiders since the 2015 season, making three Pro Bowls during that time.

But the reason the Raiders felt comfortable moving on from Hudson was due to third-year center Andre James. In just limited action, the Raiders felt good enough about his play to not only trade away Hudson but also reward him with a contract extension.

While that move certainly seems strange on the surface, James’s teammates appear to be excited about the new era in Las Vegas.

In a recent article by Levi Edwards of Raiders.com, he spoke with Kolton Miller and Richie Incognito about their new center. Miller was very complimentary of James and praised his hard work not only this offseason but in the previous year as he worked with Hudson:

“That guy just came to work every day, picked up as much as he could from Rodney. You can see he already had the footwork, already had the fundamentals, he just needed to fine-tune some of the smaller stuff. He’s come along a great way. I’m excited for the season. I’m excited for the competition coming up to see what he does.”

Incognito also had several nice things to say about James, including praising his work ethic. But are these comments just the typical offseason puff that we tend to get in the middle of July or is James really been that impressive? It’s something we won’t truly know until the players actually hit the field.

With just a few weeks until training camp begins for the Raiders, Andre James remains one of the biggest unknowns for this team. If he can play well and adequately replace Hudson, this offensive line has a chance to be much, much better in 2021.

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