T.J. Morrison

Raiders Sign LB Darron Lee

A former first-round pick is heading to Las Vegas. The Raiders announced that they’ve signed linebacker Darron Lee. The team also signed cornerback De’Vante Bausby and waived cornerback T.J. Morrison.

Lee, the No. 20 pick of the 2016 draft, disappointed during his three seasons with the Jets, collecting a total of 273 tackles and four sacks in 58 games (38 starts). He won a Super Bowl ring after getting traded to the Chiefs in 2019, but he was limited to mostly a backup role during his lone season in Kansas City. He caught on with the Bills in 2020, seeing time in only a pair of games.

Lee will have an uphill battle to find snaps, as the Raiders have put in work over the past few years to revamp their linebackers depth chart. Cory Littleton and Nick Kwiatkoski will once again lead the depth chart, but Lee would still have to overcome the likes of Nicholas Morrow, Tanner Muse, and Divine Deablo for playing time.

Bausby has bounced around the league a bit since going undrafted in 2015. The 28-year-old actually ended up having a career season in 2020, collecting 21 tackles and five passes defended in 11 games with the Broncos (and briefly the Cardinals).

Morrison went undrafted out of Stony Brook in this past year’s draft. He signed with the Raiders as an undrafted free agent back in May.

Raiders Bring In 10 UDFAs

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.