The Oakland Raiders just won’t stop making moves during their bye week as they’ve decided to move on from injured wide receiver, J.J. Nelson, per ESPN’s Field Yates.
The Raiders have cut veteran WR J.J. Nelson and re-signed WR Marcell Ateman, per source.
Nelson was supposed to be the starter next to Tyrell Williams once Antonio Brown was let go, but he could only get healthy enough to appear in two games. His tenure with the Raiders consisted of four catches for 36 yards and one touchdown. He is replaced by Marcell Ateman, who was just recently cut to make room for Zay Jones. This marks the second time the Raiders have signed Atemen within the last two weeks.
Oakland’s wide receiver corps has seen a lot of turmoil through five weeks of football, mainly due to injuries. This has led to the team making several moves. The wide receiver depth chart almost looks completely different than it did just before the season started. The Raiders also announced that they are adding Lester Cotton Sr. back to the practice squad. He was activated for the game against the Chicago Bears but didn’t see any playing time. The undrafted rookie out of Alabama still has some work to do if he’s going to hit the field on Sunday’s.
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Raiders WR Depth Chart
*denotes expected starters
WR1: Tyrell Williams*, Hunter Renfrow, Keelan Doss
WR2: Zay Jones*, Trevor Davis, Marcell Ateman, Dwayne Harris
While he has been battling injury, there’s no doubt that Tyrell Williams is still the top guy in the Raiders receiving corps. It remains to be seen if Zay Jones or Trevor Davis will take Nelson’s spot on the depth chart, but for now, we’re going to go with Jones. Dwayne Harris is still injured and will probably miss some more games, so he’ll be at the back of the depth chart.
Keelan Doss finds himself towards the bottom once again if Williams is healthy enough to play in Week 7. Doss hasn’t done much yet, so he’s likely still just a work in progress. Hunter Renfrow is another rookie who needs to prove himself. He was getting all sorts of hype in the offseason and hasn’t lived up to it yet.
What Was Once a Strength Is Now a Weakness
Add a drama-free Antonio Brown to the group above and you have a very impressive group of wide receivers. However, this group lacks a true number one. Williams can be elite as a number two option, but he hasn’t proven that he’s ready to be the top guy yet. Jones hasn’t lived up to his high draft selection yet, so he’s unlikely to fill that role.
The Raiders may not have the strongest receiving corps in the NFL, but based on how they’ve play in their last two games, they may not need it. Josh Jacobs looks like a star and so does Darren Waller. Those two men should be the focal points of the offense if Oakland doesn’t add a true number one receiver. Regardless, the team is doing what they can to improve the position and the unit should get better as the season goes on and players learn the offense.
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Raiders Cut Starting WR, Re-Sign Recently Released Player