The Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver room is looking set and the only guaranteed returner from last season will be Hunter Renfrow. The team made some big changes this offseason with the addition of Davante Adams and new head coach Josh McDaniels wasn’t interested in many returning players. One player who won’t be on the team’s roster is Marcell Ateman.
The former seventh-round pick has been on and off the Raiders roster for the past four seasons. For the first time in his career, Ateman is finally getting a shot on a new roster. The Arizona Cardinals announced that they’ve signed the veteran wide receiver.
We have signed WR Marcell Ateman.
In his four seasons with the Raiders, Ateman played in 19 games. His most prominent season came during his rookie year when he started in six games and made 15 catches for 154 yards. Since then, Ateman has had a difficult time finding a consistent role. He’ll be a big body for the Cardinals to use at 6-foot-4. There’s plenty of opportunity in Arizona with DeAndre Hoplins suspended for the first six games and Hollywood Brown potentially facing punishment after getting charged with criminal speeding.
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Willie Snead Signing With 49ers
Unlike Ateman, Willie Snead only spent a short time with the Raiders. He was signed by the team last offseason but asked to be cut after just seven games with the team. He only had three catches in those seven games with the Raiders.
He didn’t have much luck after forcing his way out of Las Vegas. He eventually landed with the Carolina Panthers where he played in just two games. In those two games, he had one catch and the Panthers finished with a 5-12 record. Had he stayed with the Raiders, he could’ve carved out a bigger role and played for a playoff team. It was a bad bet on his part.
Luckily, Snead will get another look. According to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network, the San Francisco 49ers are signing the veteran wide receiver.
Snead started off his career quite strongly with the New Orleans Saints when he combined for 1,879 receiving yards over his first two seasons. He only has 1,552 yards combined in the five seasons since.
Raiders Should Be Happy With WR Room
The Raiders have had a very difficult time putting together a strong wide receiver room over the years. It looked like they solved the issue with Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper in 2015 and 2016 but that only lasted a couple of seasons. The Raiders now have the best wide receiver in the NFL in Adams and a Pro Bowl slot receiver in Renfrow.
How the depth behind those two will shake out remains to be seen but there’s reason to be positive. The team has size in Mack Hollins, speed in Tyron Johnson and veteran consistency in Keelan Cole. The Raiders’ wide receiver group is in a really good spot and quarterback Derek Carr should be excited with the players he gets to work with this season.
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2 Former Raiders WRs Sign With NFC West Teams