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The Oakland Raiders could beef up their wide receiving corps in the very near future.
While the Raiders won’t be bringing back Antonio Brown anytime soon, they could opt for a reunion with another former wide receiver. This news comes courtesy of a report from NFL Network’s Jane Slater, revealing that the Raiders brought in Brice Butler for a workout Friday — just prior to their game against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 3.
WR Brice Butler tells me he worked out for the #Raiders today ahead of their trip to Minnesota. Tells me he would love to rejoin the team and QB Derek Carr. A 7th round pick for them in 2013, he believes he could be another weapon for them on the outside.
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Brice Butler’s History with Raiders
Butler was a seventh-round draft selection of the Raiders in 2013. Although he struggled to consistently put up numbers, he was a ridiculously fast wide receiver who ran a 4.37 at the 40-yard-dash upon entering the NFL.
During two seasons with the Raiders in 2013 and 2014, Butler posted 30 receptions for 383 yards and two touchdowns. He was traded following the start of the 2015 season where he would go onto play for the Dallas Cowboys for the next three seasons. However, once the Cowboys acquired Pro Bowl wide receiver Amari Cooper from the Raiders in 2018, Butler became expendable and was waived.
The 6-foot-3 receiver would go onto latch with the Miami Dolphins where he would appear in six games while catching six passes for 60 yards and a touchdown.
The Raiders were expected to have one of the strongest receiving cores in the NFL at the beginning of the 2019 season. However, once Antonio Brown forced his way out of Oakland, it became a glaring weakness for the Raiders. As of this writing, Tyrell Williams has had a solid season with 11 receptions on 14 targets for 151 yards and two touchdowns. However, rookie Hunter Renfrow has failed to solidify himself as a true secondary target, catching just six passes on 11 targets for a total of 43 yards and zero touchdowns. For perspective, that’s just 7.2 yards per catch.
Jon Gruden Unhappy About Most Brutal Road Trip in NFL History
As if the Raiders didn’t have enough issues, the team has to brace themselves for the worst road trip in NFL history. That would be because for 48 days, they won’t play at home. That means that September 15 will mark the last date the Raiders play in Oakland until returning there again on November 3.
During this brutal stretch, they’ll play the Vikings in Minnesota in Week 3, the Colts in Indianapolis in Week 4 and head to London — you know, in Europe — for their “home” game in Week 5 against the Chicago Bears.
They’ll get a bye in week 6 before traveling to Green Bay to play the Packers in Week 7 and the Texans in Houston in Week 8 before finally returning home for Week 9.
“It’s uncommon, maybe unprecedented, maybe unrealistic that this should ever happen in pro football,” Gruden said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “I’m not excited about it, but we’ll adapt and do it the best we can.”
“We are still trying to understand how that happened, but we are going to have to deal with it,” Gruden said. “We just have to showcase our mental toughness and deal with it.”
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