OAKLAND – Raiders cornerback Sean Smith makes a $9.25 million base salary this season. It was fully guaranteed when he signed a four-year, $38 million contract last offseason.
The base salary is paid in 17 installments, one for each week of the regular season. That means the Raiders paid Smith $544,117 to do nothing in Sunday's 17-16 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
He active as an emergency option but wasn't needed, and did not play a single snap on defense or special teams.
David Amerson and TJ Carrie started at cornerback, with Dexter McDonald entering in the sub package. Snaps are earned under head coach Jack Del Rio. Salary or draft status doesn't enter into his decisions.
Smith has been a liability against speed receivers and the Raiders don't shadow cornerbacks, meaning he was vulnerable to bad matchups on the outside.
Amerson and Carrie have been good, and McDonald has proven effective in recent weeks as a third cornerback. The Raiders are making do without first-round cornerback Gareon Conley, who remains out with a shin injury.
NFL Network reports that Conley has an important doctor's appointment set for Tuesday, which could cause him to be shut down an extended stretch.
Sports
The inside linebacker corps was down a few members Sunday, leaving undrafted rookies to man the interior. Fifth-round rookie Marquel Lee was out with an ankle injury and Cory James played but seven defensive snaps due to a knee injury.
Nicholas Morrow started at middle linebacker and played 62 snaps, while Xavier Woodson-Luster, a special teams player prior to Sunday, played on the weak side.
Those kids fared well under difficult circumstances. Morrow had five tackles, a quarterback hit and a pass defensed. He allowed three catches for 43 yards on four targets, according to analytics site Pro Football Focus.
Woodson-Luster had six tackles, and allowed an 11-yard catch on two targets.
OFFENSE
OFFENSIVE LINE: Kelechi Osemele 58, Gabe Jackson 58, Donald Penn 58, Rodney Hudson 58, Marshall Newhouse 57, Vadal Alexander 7
QUARTERBACKS: Derek Carr 58
RUNNING BACKS:Marshawn Lynch 30, Jalen Richard 17, DeAndre Washington 5
RECEIVERS: Amari Cooper 55, Michael Crabtree 49, Seth Roberts 42, Cordarrelle Patterson 17, Johnny Holton
TIGHT ENDS:Jared Cook 46, Lee Smith 13, Clive Walford 7
DEFENSE
DEFENSIVE LINE: Khalil Mack 55, Justin Ellis 44, Mario Edwards 42, Denico Autry 37, Treyvon Hester 34, Eddie Vanderdoes 21, James Cowser 7
LINEBACKERS: Nicholas Morrow 62, Bruce Irvin 58, Xavier Woodson-Luster 40, Shilique Calhoun 10, Cory James 7, Tyrell Adams 1
CORNERBACKS:TJ Carrie 64, David Amerson 64, Dexter McDonald 28
SAFETIES:Reggie Nelson 64, Karl Joseph 64, Keith McGill 12
SPECIAL TEAMS
Keith McGill 19, James Cowser 19, Tyrell Adams 19, Shilique Calhoun 15, Shalom Luani 15, Erik Harris 15, Johnny Holton 11, Cordarrelle Patterson 8, Jalen Richard 8, DeAndre Washington 8, Dexter McDonald 8, Lee Smith 7, Xavier Woodson-Luster 7, Jon Feliciano 7, Jon Condo 7, Marquette King 7, Darius McCray 7, Giorgio Tavhecchio 6, TJ Carrie 4, Nicholas Morrow 4, Khalil Mack 4, Denico Autry 4, Treyvon Hester 4, Eddie Vanderdoes 4, Kelechi Osemele 3, Gabe Jackson 3, Marshall Newhouse 3, Vadal Alexander 3, Clive Walford 3, Karl Joseph 3, Justin Ellis 3, Mario Edward 3
INACTIVES
QB Connor Cook, CB Gareon Conley, FB Jamize Olawale, LB Marquel Lee, OT Jylan Ware, OT David Sharpe, DL Jihad Ward
DID NOT PLAY
QB EJ Manuel, CB Sean Smith
