The Raiders have agreed to a new three-year, $12MM with wide receiver Seth Roberts, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Roberts will earn $6.45MM in guarantees and is now under team control through 2019. Oakland has officially announced the transaction.
Roberts, 26, had been scheduled to become a restricted free agent next offseason after earning just $615K in 2017. The Raiders could have placed the first-round tender on Roberts in 2018 at a cost of roughly $4MM, meaning they’d have controlled him for the next two seasons at a cost ~$4.7MM. Given that his new contract is worth $12MM over three seasons, Oakland is valuing Roberts’ 2019 season at roughly $7.3MM.
The Raiders have used Roberts as a third wide receiver for the past two seasons, during which he’s appeared in all 32 possible games. During that time, Roberts has averaged 35 receptions,, 438 yards, and five touchdowns per year while playing behind Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree. Football Outsiders hasn’t been a fan of Roberts’ work, however, ranking him 83rd and 84th in DVOA and DYAR, respectively, among 94 qualifiers.
Oakland has been extremely willing to lock up its core pieces this offseason, as its agreed to extensions with quarterback Derek Carr and offensive guard Gabe Jackson over the past several months before signing Roberts to a multi-year pact today.