ALAMEDA -- Dion Jordan hasn't been a Raider long. He signed with the team on Friday and formally joined the team on Tuesday after his NFL-imposed suspension ended, leaving some question whether he'd be ready to play right away.
That answer's already becoming clear. Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther said the defensive lineman should don silver and black soon.
"Absolutely," Guenther said. "I think there's a very good chance he makes his Raiders debut."
Jordan isn't the only new guy ready to make a contribution. Safety D.J. Swearinger should step right in, possibly playing a significant role in this Bengals game with Karl Joseph now on injured reserve.
"I do [expect Swearinger to play]," Guenther said. "It's all hands on deck this week with the guys we got."
Swearinger seemed to have better odds of making an instant impact. He came in on Friday and his transition has been smooth after playing in a similar defense while with Arizona earlier this year.
"You know, coming from Arizona, Vance Joseph is the defensive coordinator there," Guenther said. "He was my secondary coach when I was in Cincinnati, so he's used to kind of the same terminology. When we got him here I was like, ‘hey this is this coverage, this is that coverage,' and he shook his head, ‘yeah I got it.' So that was helpful. And he's a smart guy to begin with so he's picked it up really good."
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Jordan had to show well in Thursday's practice, a higher-tempo workout with one-on-one pass-rush drills. Jordan is in fantastic shape but hasn't played all season while serving a 10-game ban for using Adderall. The Raiders really need Jordon to fortify a thin defensive end group worked hard during the past few games.
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Jordan will bring some fresh legs, even if he's only available on obvious passing downs.
"He's big and long. He's getting into football shape, and has really helped us out," Guenther said. "He's picking up the playbook quick, so he was in working with the first team at some points today."