The real reason Shotwell didn't make the cut

I spoke to a couple Raiders beat writers over the last two days and got some more information on the mixup that had two Northern California papers publishing an Oakland practice squad list that mistakenly listed former Cal Poly linebacker Kyle Shotwell as making the squad.
They said the Raiders had Shotwell on their practice squad list when they released it to the local media around 11 a.m. Sunday.
The Raiders did not call Shotwell back to let him know he had not made the practice squad until around 3 p.m. Sunday, so obviously there was a change of heart between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. and nobody from the Raiders informed the San Francisco Chronicle and Sacramento Bee of the change.
It's pretty obvious what happened now: The Raiders said Shotwell was not at Sunday's morning practice session because they were still working out the details of adding him to the practice squad.
But the real reason was: the Rams had surprisingly cut LB Jon Alston (a third-round pick in the 2006 draft) on Saturday and the Raiders were waiting until he cleared waivers Sunday to make a decision on their practice squad linebacker. Alston received offers from four teams and decided to go with the Raiders. That's when Oakland went with the former Stanford LB instead of the undrafted Shotwell, meaning the former Cal Poly standout was the last player cut from the Raiders. He was that close to making the team.
See my story today for reaction from Shotwell.