Raiders Did the Right Thing Acting Quickly on Henry Ruggs III and Jon Gruden

Henry Ruggs III has been released by the Las Vegas Raiders just hours after he was involved in a fatal car crash. Ruggs will be charged with DUI resulting in death and reckless driving resulting in death or serious bodily harm. The chargers could result in a lengthy prison sentence. To their credit, the Raiders active swiftly and dumped the speedy wide receiver, much as they acted quickly to remove Jon Gruden after his email scandal.

Let's be real here, Ruggs wasn't just any wide receiver. He wasn't some random depth guy. He is a huge piece of what the Raiders do offensively and was the 12th pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. He's a field-stretcher that gives Derek Carr and the offense something they don't have otherwise. But after what happened early Tuesday morning, Las Vegas simply couldn't keep him around.

As with the Gruden mess, much credit has to be given to owner Mark Davis and the front office for acting quickly to get rid of a massive distraction. Gruden had to go after racist, misogynistic and homophobic remarks were revealed in repeated emails sent to former Washington Football Team president Bruce Allen. There was no coming back from that, even with six years and $60 million left on his contract.

Ruggs wasn't going to play the rest of the season and it's likely a potential trial would drag out and could result in real jail time. He wasn't going to help the franchise any time soon, so it was the smart move to excise the distraction from the building. It wasn't just the right thing for the franchise, but the right thing to do in general.

The Raiders sit atop the the AFC West at 5-2 and are doing whatever they can to avoid massive distractions and push forward. That has included quickly cutting ties with Ruggs and Gruden.