Head coach Pete Carroll confirmed that the Las Vegas Raiders are holding a competition for the starting center spot.
Though Jackson Powers-Johnson seemed like the clear-cut starter at the position, the team has also given Jordan Meredith a fair share of the first-team reps at center. Carroll praised Meredith after Tuesday's practice and confirmed that the center position is up for grabs.
"Both guys are battling, and it just makes us better," Carroll said about Powers-Johnson and Meredith via Paul Gutierrez of Raiders.com.
"[Jordan Meredith] played really efficiently last year," Carroll said of Meredith via Levi Edwards of Raiders.com.
During Tuesday's practice, Meredith ran with the first team, while Powers-Johnson worked with the backups. On Monday, Powers-Johnson was with the starters, while Meredith worked with the second team, so it appears both players are switching every day.
"Meredith back working with the 1s for the walk through portion. JPJ [Jackson Powers-Johnson] worked with the 1s yesterday," Jesse Merrick of the Silver and Black Sports Network wrote on X.
After a promising rookie season, where he started 14 games and played both guard and center, Powers-Johnson was expected to be a long-term building block on the team's offensive line. However, the Oregon product is now in a position battle with the 27-year-old Meredith.
Meredith has never played a snap at center in a regular season game in his career, but has been a nice depth piece on the Raiders' offensive line since entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2022.
In 14 games last year, including eight starts, Meredith allowed zero sacks and nine quarterback pressures with an 80.8 PFF grade. He played 209 snaps at right guard and 365 snaps at left guard.
As training camp goes on, the center battle will be a topic of focus. Powers-Johnson still has to be the favorite, but the versatile and savvy Meredith could shockingly steal the job.
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