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The Las Vegas Raiders are set to rely on veterans at wide receiver this season after trading away Bryan Edwards, one of the few young wide receivers left on the roster, to the Atlanta Falcons on May 13 and cutting Tre Turner on May 16.
The Raiders avoided the position in the draft but did find a couple of undrafted free agents, including Turner, one of Virginia Tech’s top receivers of the past few years.
When the Raiders signed him, according to Jordan Schultz, they gave him $40,000 in guaranteed money, which is considerably higher than the $15,071 average guarantee for the 21 undrafted free agents they signed in 2020, according to Over the Cap. As of May 12, the Raiders had signed 15 undrafted free agents, up from 10 in 2021.
A day after Turner was waived, the Raiders announced that they’d signed tight end Travis Koontz, cornerback Stanford Samuels III and tackle Tyrone Wheatley Jr.
Turner might remain on the Raiders’ radar this offseason if they need another wide receiver. He might also get looks from other teams given that he almost signed with the Minnesota Vikings before choosing the Raiders’ offer.
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Raiders Sign 4 of Their Draft Picks
While the team’s undrafted free agents will have to fight to hang on to their roster spots over the next three months, the Raiders’ drafted players will have the upper hand, and the team has worked quickly to sign their draft picks. They announced on May 12 that they’d already signed Dylan Parham, Matthew Butler, Thayer Munford Jr. and Brittain Brown.
The fact that the players have signed contracts doesn’t guarantee a roster spot, but over the past five seasons, 95.3% of draftees played in at least one regular-season game as a rookie.
Derek Carr Named Biggest Winner From Draft
The Raiders didn’t make waves during the draft. Because they traded their first and second-round picks for former Packers wide receiver Davante Adams, they weren’t able to make any high-profile picks. Without any clear difference-makers added to the team via the draft, ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez named quarterback Derek Carr the Raiders’ biggest winner of the draft.
“Well for one, the Raiders did not draft his replacement. But for another, the new regime did add some depth to protect him with a pair of versatile offensive linemen in Dylan Parham and Thayer Munford,” Gutierrez wrote in story published May 16. “Now, neither guy jumps off the page immediately, but they do make a suspect O-line better in terms of competition, right?
“And in May, that’s all you can really hope for when you don’t make your first selection until late in the third round of the draft. Plus, the Raiders did use those first two picks to get wide receiver Davante Adams for Carr in trade, yes? Yes.”
This has been arguably the most exciting offseason in Carr’s eight-year career. First, a respected offensive coach, Josh Daniels, was hired. Then, the Raiders acquired Adams, a close friend of Carr’s and arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL.
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