Oakland Raiders could have interest in potential castoff from Big D

Oakland Raiders HC Jon Gruden has made it clear the WR group needs work — could they have interest in a potential Cowboys castoff?

The Oakland Raiders have a need at wide receiver. Granted, it’s not nearly as critical as the need at other positions, but the need does exist. It’s a need HC Jon Gruden has already acknowledged, saying when it comes to filling out the depth chart, the team “isn’t done there.”

Oakland’s receivers room, headlined by Amari Cooper and Jordy Nelson, needs some additional depth. Whether Gruden and GM Reggie McKenzie opt to address that need via the Draft, or potential free agents is the question — a question that could potentially have an intriguing answer.

Along with the aforementioned Cooper and Nelson, the Raiders have Seth Roberts and Johnny Holton as holdovers from the Del Rio regime. Both Roberts and Holton have had some success on the field, but neither one truly inspires a lot of confidence, given their inconsistency.

About the best that can be said about them at this point, is that they provide decent options, relatively solid depth, and some warm bodies in the receivers room. And no,

Make no mistake about it though, beyond Cooper and Nelson, the talent and reliability level on Oakland’s wideout depth chart falls straight off the table. Both have made some good plays and have had some nice moments, but both have also had some mind-numbing drops and terrible plays to those same resumes.

Simply put, neither has stepped up to prove they can be a viable, and more importantly, reliable third option — which is likely why Gruden is still looking for some outside help.

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And no, neither Griff Whalen, nor Dwayne Harris are likely the answers either.

The saga of Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant, one of the bigger storylines this offseason, should likely be gaining some clarity in the next few days, as it’s being reported that owner Jerry Jones is set to meet with him. The speculation is that Jones is going to ask Bryant to either take a significant pay cut to stay with the team, or barring an agreement to that, release him outright.

If Bryant does indeed get cut and hits the free agent market, the Raiders could potentially fill that need for a big bodied third receiver by luring him to the East Bay.

While the likelihood is that the Raiders will add to the receivers room via the Draft, there is still the possibility Gruden tries to persuade Bryant to come west. We already know how Gruden loves his veteran players and Bryant has proven he can still be productive

Now, before anybody gets on their, “œbut the salary cap” soapbox, the team was gearing up to make a run at Ndamukong Suh and his hefty price tag, which means that the cap can be massaged in a way that they could fit Bryant in if A) they were serious about it, and B) Bryant were actually interested.