Trayvon Mullen‘s return is coming sooner than later. The Raiders designated the defensive back to return from injured reserve today, reports NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter).
A foot injury forced Mullen out of the lineup in early October. Up to that point, the former second-round pick had been one of the Raiders’ better defenders, collecting 16 tackles, four passes defended, and one interception in four starts. Pro Football Focus had graded Mullen as a top-25 corner through those four games. After appearing in at least 75 percent of his team’s defensive snaps through the first three weeks, Mullen was limited to only six snaps before suffering a foot injury in Week 4.
“I think he wants to be in a position where he feels like he’s ready to go and he’s not at 70 percent or 80 percent,” interim head coach Rich Bisaccia said yesterday (via Jairo Alvarado of SI.com). “And I think we’d like that from him as well to come back where he knows he can get out there and compete.”
The Raiders also waived wideout Dillon Stoner today, per Aaron Wilson (on Twitter). The rookie signed with the Raiders as an undrafted free agent back in May, and he’s spent most of the season on the team’s practice squad. He saw time in four games for the Raiders, collecting one special teams tackle while appearing in only seven offensive snaps.
Several of these players will be invited to stick around on Las Vegas’ practice squad, with the NFL greenlighting a second year of 16-man taxi squads. The Raiders’ cutting Brown and Doss keeps Willie Snead and Zay Jones on their active roster. Johnson played a part-time role on the Raiders’ defense last season, while Carrier has been with the team for the past four years. The Raiders re-signed him in March. Wreh-Wilson was aiming to catch on for a ninth NFL season, and while the former Titans and Falcons cornerback may do so, the Raiders halted his effort to land on their initial 53-man roster.
The Raiders became the latest team to announce their undrafted free agent class. Las Vegas’ initial group of UDFAs consists of 10 players. Here is the group:
Both Bushman and Stoner received six-figure guarantees. The Raiders guaranteed Bushman $135K, according to veteran NFL reporter Aaron Wilson, who tweets the ex-BYU tight end will receive a $125K base salary guarantee and a $10K signing bonus. Stoner’s arrangement, via Wilson (on Twitter): $120K total guaranteed. Bushman worked as one of Zach Wilson‘s top targets from 2018-19 but suffered an Achilles tear ahead of the 2020 season. He still totaled 1,719 receiving yards in a productive three-year run with the Cougars.
Stoner and Turner join a crowded Raiders receiving corps. Las Vegas, which used first- and third-round picks on wideouts last year, signed both John Brown and Willie Snead this offseason. Stoner saw action in five Oklahoma State seasons, being a regular contributor going back to Mason Rudolph‘s final season. Stoner worked as the Cowboys’ punt returner and surpassed 570 receiving yards in each of his final four seasons, ranking in the top 10 in school history in catches and yards.
The Raiders are giving Hamilton a $75K guarantee, Wilson tweets. Hamilton played four seasons at Stanford before transferring to Duke as a grad student. Ragas worked as a primary Louisiana rusher for four seasons, totaling 596 carries. He topped 1,100 yards as a sophomore, averaged 7.1 per carry as a junior and scored 12 TDs in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 slate. Ragas will join a backfield flush with vets, however. Las Vegas signed Kenyan Drake and returns Josh Jacobs, Theo Riddick and Jalen Richard.
