One of the conversations you read about last week was the status of Gareon Conley. Some took issue with the suggestion that Conley might be slipping down the depth chart.

For whatever reason, Conley was taken off the field to close out the Cleveland game and his playing time took an even greater hit this week with the return of Daryl Worley from a four-game suspension. Somewhat lost in the disappointing loss to the Chargers was the fact that Conley played only 13 snaps in the game – which was less than Worley (49), Rashaan Melvin (40), Leon Hall (39), and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (19).

So yes, there’s officially something going on with Conley and the problem has extended into it’s second week. To this point, there has been no mention of an injury and Conley has not been listed on the injury report. Maybe Jon Gruden or Paul Guenther will publicly address his playing time this week, but Conley is clearly either injured or not in good standing with the coaching staff – both of which happened to be the case last year with Del Rio’s group.

Considering how bad things seem to be right now for Gruden and company, Conley’s status is just another drop in the bucket for a coaching staff that is at a critical point in keeping the team engaged. With so many veterans on the roster, it’s fair to wonder how many will be content to take a check and ride off into the night. For guys like Conley, though, it’s going to a challenge to keep the vibe positive while he’s buried on the depth chart.

Going into the season, Conley was expected to be one of the few Pro Bowl level performers on Guenther’s defense. Right about now it looks like there might not be any.

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