Justin Phillips

Raiders Release Ryan Grant

By Andrew Ortenberg | at September 25, 2019 12:54 pm

Ryan Grant‘s time in Oakland is over. The Raiders are releasing the veteran receiver, according to a tweet from Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area. In a follow-up tweet, Bair notes the team is promoting linebacker Justin Phillips from the practice squad to take his place on the roster.

It’s been a tumultuous past couple of seasons for Grant, who was originally drafted by the Redskins in the fifth-round back in 2014. He made a name for himself in Washington and was a favorite of head coach Jay Gruden, racking up 573 yards and four touchdowns in 2017. The strong season landed him a four-year, $29MM deal from the Ravens with a whopping $14.5MM in guaranteed money in free agency. The amount Baltimore gave him attracted a lot of criticism, and the next day they failed his physical and voided the deal.

Grant ended up signing a one-year, $5MM deal with the Colts, and spent last year in Indy. He didn’t play a huge role, catching 35 passes for 334 yards. He signed with Oakland this offseason, and he had nine targets in the team’s first two games. He quickly fell out of favor and was a healthy scratch this past week, so the writing was on the wall.

With promising rookie Hunter Renfrow in the slot, there wasn’t much of a need for Grant’s services anymore. Fortunately for Grant as a vested veteran his salary became guaranteed Week 1, so he’ll collect $1MM from Oakland. He should be able to latch on with a team in need of receiving help at some point. Phillips is an undrafted rookie from Oklahoma State.