Former UDFA ready to continue to ascend for Las Vegas
Luke Masterson will know in the next 24 hours or so whether his unlikely ride with the Las Vegas Raiders will continue another year.
The Raiders and the rest of the NFL must be down to the initial 53-man roster for the regular season by Tuesday afternoon. Last year, Masterson was one of the stories of the Raiders’ cut-down day as he made the roster as an undrafted free agent.
The Wake Forest product played in all 17 games in 0222 and had seven starts. He made 59 tackles. Masterson should be safe, but he hasn’t taken anything for granted this training camp as he pushes to continue his NFL career. He said earlier in training cmap he is taking the same approach as he did as an undrafted free agent.
“Honestly, I’m trying to approach it the same way. I’m trying to approach it like I’m still fighting for a job because I am,” Masterson said. “Everyone’s fighting for a job out here. I come every day with that mindset and I’m trying to treat it the same way.”
Well, it worked for him last year so why not. Still, Masterson knows he has plenty of growth to make.
“A lot of ups and downs. I would say there was some good games, some bad games,” Masterson said of his rookie campaign. “I just tried to learn every week from my mistakes and try and get better every play. Definitely trying to take that next step this year, learn from my mistakes last year. I have some core things that I’m trying to work on and get better at … (during the season) You’re just week to week trying to win, get the game plan and get ready for the game. But after the season you’re able to take a step back a little bit and reflect, and that was really where I could see where I needed to grow. Take a step back and look at yourself honestly and see what you did good, what you did bad, and how you can grow going into this year.”
Now, Masterson hopes to get the opportunity to grow some more.