The Raiders are moving on from Willie Snead. The veteran wide receiver requested his release, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter, and the team will grant it (Twitter link).
Snead has played a lesser role in Las Vegas compared to his jobs in New Orleans and Baltimore, and the Raiders — like they did with John Brown just before the season started — agreed to release a veteran wideout. The seventh-year slot receiver had only caught three passes for 32 yards as a Raider.
Because Snead is being cut ahead of the trade deadline, he will go straight to free agency. Had the Raiders cut him after next week’s deadline, the veteran would have been subject to waivers.
A late-March signing, Snead profiled as a depth player for the Raiders. He logged only 8% of their offensive snaps through seven games. This marked a sharp decline from his Ravens role last season, when he played 63% of their offensive snaps.
Snead, 29, played three seasons with the Saints and Ravens. His most productive years came in New Orleans, when he topped 890 receiving yards in his first two seasons, and the former UDFA has been a serviceable auxiliary wideout in the years since. Snead caught 33 passes for 432 yards in Baltimore’s run-heavy offense last season. The Raiders added Snead and Brown earlier this year but have used homegrown targets Henry Ruggs, Hunter Renfrow and Bryan Edwards as their primary receivers this season.
Signed with Panthers PS? Huh? I watched the Giants/Panthers game…. pew! That was hard to watch… Going from Carr to Darnold. Good luck w/that.