Getty Las Vegas Raiders WR DJ Turner.
The Las Vegas Raiders must look to the future after missing the playoffs this season. The future is murky with a quarterback change almost certainly coming this offseason. However, the team has many more holes on the roster than just quarterback.
While there will be plenty of new faces joining the team, the Raiders have already decided to give 13 young players who were with the team this season another chance. The team announced that they’ve signed 13 players to Reserve/Future contracts.
We have signed the following 13 players to Reserve/Future contracts » t.co/pmGI34V40i
The following players were signed:
- CB Isiah Brown
- CB Bryce Cosby
- P Julian Diaz
- S Jalen Elliot
- TE Cole Fotheringham
- G Vitaliy Gurman
- T Sebastian Gutierrez
- WR Chris Lacy
- LB Kana’I Mauga
- G Jordan Meredith
- WR DJ Turner
- RB Austin Walter
- WR Isaiah Zuber
Getting signed to Reserve/Future contracts will keep them under Raiders control for much of the offseason. 12 of the 13 were on the team’s practice squad when the season ended so they showed that they have potential. These contracts don’t guarantee a roster spot for next season but some of these players should still be around when training camp starts.
Most Notable Players Signed
The player that stands out the most among the signees is wide receiver DJ Turner. He impressed the Raiders in training camp last year and spent a portion of the season on the active roster. He didn’t get a single catch all season but did have four rushes for 26 yards. He was also with the Raiders last season.
Other than Turner, there aren’t many notable signings from the haul. Offensive lineman Jordan Meredith spent some time on the active roster but was also on and off the practice squad. All of these players have work to do if they hope to make the roster after training camp.
Josh McDaniels Talks Free Agency
The Raiders went 6-11 this season after making the playoffs last year and having high expectations heading into 2022. If head coach Josh McDaniels hopes to keep his job, he’s got a lot of work to do this offseason to build a winner quickly. Most of the work will have to come on the defensive side of the ball. The team allowed 24.6 points a game this season, which was 26th in the NFL. In his end-of-the-year press conference, McDaniels had a chance to talk free agency.
“I mean, look, there’s obviously a lot to go into that,” McDaniels said Monday. “That’s a broader question that will probably be answered over the next so many months. But there’s certainly a number of free agents and we’re aware of that, really on both sides of the ball. But those questions will be answered here as we go through our process and evaluate what we had this year and what we might need to do to get better. It’ll look different. I mean, there’s no question about that. But I’d say the same thing for the other two sides as well. Nothing’s ever the same from one year to the next, and there will be new faces in here whether they’re draft picks or somebody in free agency. And I’m sure there’s going to be some guys on the team that we’re definitely going to try to bring back and continue to work with.”