INGLEWOOD, Calif. — It has the makings of a pretty good Hollywood screenplay.
The NFL for many is about opportunity. About taking advantage of those pointed in your direction.
Cody White the past two weeks has done that for the Las Vegas Raiders.
The guy is doing some memorable things in the pursuit of winning.
White was promoted off the practice squad again and made coach Klint Kubiak look all the smarter for it, catching two touchdowns in a 26-14 win against the Chargers at SoFi Stadium.
It makes some sense. White was with Kubiak last season in Seattle when the latter was offensive coordinator for the Super Bowl-winning Seahawks. There is a familiarity between coach and wide receiver.
So when Seattle released White during roster cuts, the Raiders — now 2-0 to begin a season for the first time in five years — made a call and signed him to their practice squad.
And, boy, are they ever glad for it.
Two scores
“When I came here, it was always about opportunity,” White said. “When my name was called, I knew I was going to get the chance to go out and make some plays. What happened today was super amazing.”
His presence was first felt in a season-opening win against Miami last week. White made one of the game’s biggest plays on a touchdown-saving tackle against returner Jaylen Wright. A score there would have made it 27-20 late in the third quarter.
Instead, Miami missed a field goal and came out of its red-zone possession with no points. White even received a game ball for his effort.
And then there was Sunday, when White would catch scoring passes of 13 and 11 yards from quarterback Kirk Cousins. A pair of former Michigan State players hooking up for critical touchdowns.
“(White is) 2-for-2 on game balls, but that (first) touchdown catch on third-and-long was just, it changed the game and he isn’t even open,” Cousins said. “I just gave him a chance and he made me right. I had seen him do that at Michigan State.
“I didn’t get to play with him there but watched him, and I knew he was a guy who could go get the ball and thought I’d give him a chance. It’s good to see another Spartan make a play.”
This is how little-known White was (still is?) in the grand scheme of things: Immediately after making that catch, the television audience saw a graphic calling him Corey Rucker, who is on the reserve injured list and wore No. 82, the number White has donned in his two weeks with the Raiders.
“I mean, so far he has been a shining light in our building,” star edge rusher Maxx Crosby said. “He wasn’t with us literally two weeks ago. He comes in and has all the energy in the world. I didn’t even know who he was or where he was from, but he comes in and works his ass off. Big shoutout to him, man. He has been incredible helping us win games. He deserves all the credit.”
White was on injured reserve for the Super Bowl last season but obviously made enough of an impression on Kubiak. The same can be said for wide receiver Dareke Young, also brought to Las Vegas from Seattle.
These things don’t happen and yet obviously do. White went undrafted out of Michigan State in 2020 and has spent his time trying to prove himself with several teams. Prove he’s better than a practice squad player.
Prior to Sunday, he had 11 career receptions for 169 yards and one touchdown.
Imagine that. He doubled the latter in one day here.
Star Wars
He played in 10 games for Seattle last season. He played in 15 for the Steelers in 2021. And now he is here, elevated off a practice squad two straight weeks and the owner of two game balls.
“Just meeting new people and building relationships with everybody has been the craziest part,” White said. “For (Kubiak) to believe in me and give me the opportunity to be successful … I can’t ask for anything better.
“I just want to help this team win. This means the world to me.”
It was after his second touchdown catch Sunday, which made it 24-14 with 2:59 remaining, when White trotted to one side of the end zone and pulled a pretend lightsaber from his uniform pants.
“I watched ‘Star Wars’ (Saturday night),” White said. “My family was sitting right there, so I wanted to do it in front of them.”
Two weeks later, the force is absolutely with him.
Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.
