Entering the 2015 season, the Oakland Raiders had a logjam at the wide receiver position. The team had drafted Amari Cooper while acquiring Michael Crabtree in free agency. That paired with the return of Kenbrell Thompkins, Andre Holmes, Rod Streater and Brice Butler. However, releases and trades suddenly have the depth thinning out while the offense is struggling. After trading Butler on Tuesday night, is the pressure on the remaining receivers to step up?
According to Todd Archer of ESPN.com, the Raiders have traded 2013 seventh-round draft pick Butler to the Dallas Cowboys for conditional draft picks. Butler was inactive for the team's Week 1 game despite being healthy. He put up 175 yards in the preseason while acquiring 383 yards and two touchdowns in his first two seasons with the team. Butler was considered a young talent with potential, but the Raiders took the draft picks instead.
While Butler was clearly expendable to the Raiders, it does put pressure on the roster to step up. In Week 1, the only player to record a touchdown was fullback Marcel Reece who had just three catches for 26 yards, but managed to find the endzone twice. That is not going to cut it in Oakland.
With Butler gone, Andre Holmes is expected to step up following a broken hand suffered in training camp. Holmes was not active on Sunday, but should be set to return soon. Rod Streater also needs to step up. The receiver returned late in training camp from an injury and only managed one catch for eight yards, but quarterback Derek Carr stressed that it is important to have him back as he wants the receiver more active in the offense along with improvement from everyone.
"T hese guys have been working their tails off," Carr said, via the team website. "There's not one guy out there that we say, 'I don't know about that guy.' Whenever they got on the field, all of them can make plays. They all bring something different, whether that's the route-running ability, the deep-ball skills, them catching it and what they do after the catch, they all have something different. It's a battle."
It is unclear exactly what Reece's impact will be after a nice game in Week 1. With Cooper and Crabtree running the sidelines, the Raiders want to get them the ball as much as possible. Reece could hurt the value of Latavius Murray who struggled in Week 1. With Michael Dyer cut and Roy Helu scratched, Reece might be the ideal offensive weapon as he acted in passing-down situations. The Raiders could certainly use a weapon after their first game of the season.