Former Alabama OL, 1st-round pick in 2013, lands new NFL opportunity

Former Alabama offensive lineman D.J. Fluker, after a year out of the NFL, is back in the league on a practice squad contract. He signed a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday, the team announced.

Fluker won 3 national championships with Alabama and was a 1st-round selection in the 2013 NFL Draft, going 11th overall to the then-San Diego Chargers. He spent 4 seasons with the team before being released. In 2017, he signed a 1-year deal with the New York Giants, where he started 6 games. In 2018, he inked a 1-year contract with the Seattle Seahawks and later signed an extension through 2020 but was released in April 2020.

After stints on the Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins’s practice squad, Fluker was handed a suspension for the 1st 6 games of the 2021 season, eventually signing with the Raiders’ — and later — the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad. He remained a free agent until returning to the Raiders’ practice squad on Tuesday.

Las Vegas is currently 5-8 and in 4th in the AFC West.

We have signed T Brandon Parker to the active roster and T D.J. Fluker to the practice squad.

In a corresponding move, we have placed Kana'i Mauga on the Reserve/Injured list. pic.twitter.com/11dvyTbidh

— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) December 12, 2023

Sydney Hunte

Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.