Will Putnam

Raiders Activate TE Michael Mayer

The Raiders will add some tight end depth for the second half of the season. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that the Raiders have activated tight end Michael Mayer from the non-football injury list.

[RELATED: Raiders TE Michael Mayer Returns To Practice]

Mayer landed on the NFI list in early October due to undisclosed personal reasons and has missed the Raiders’ last six games. The tight end returned to practice earlier this week, and the Raiders are expecting to throw him right into the fire.

“I think there’s obviously an opportunity there for him,” coach Antonio Pierce said (via Vic Tafur of The Athletic). “The more we can get him involved, the better.”

Through the first three weeks of the season, Mayer had appeared in 56 percent of his team’s offensive snaps. Even with the expected emergence of first-round TE Brock Bowers, there should still be a role for the second-year pro in Las Vegas. Mayer looked the part of a potential TE1 as a rookie, finishing the year with 27 catches for 304 yards and two touchdowns. Harrison Bryant and John Samuel Shenker will likely slide down the depth chart with Mayer back in the lineup.

The Raiders made a handful of additional moves in anticipation of tomorrow’s matchup with the Dolphins. The team announced that they’ve waived wideout Alex Bachman, and they also promoted receiver Terrace Marshall and center Will Putnam from the practice squad as standard gameday elevations.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: AFC West

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These BroncosChargersChiefs and Raiders moves are noted below.

Denver Broncos

Signed:

Claimed:

Signed to practice squad:

Kansas City Chiefs

Signed:

Claimed:

  • CB Eric Scott Jr.

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Las Vegas Raiders

Signed:

Claimed:

Waived:

Placed on IR: 

Signed to practice squad:

Los Angeles Chargers

Signed:

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Raiders Trim Roster To 53

Here is how Antonio Pierce‘s first Raiders effort moved down to 53:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on IR/return designation:

Waived/failed physical:

Peterman’s exit leaves two quarterbacks — the two that vied for the starting gig (Gardner Minshew, Aidan O’Connell) — on their 53-man roster. Peterman, however, has been quite resilient in his career. The Bears dropped him last year only to circle back via a practice squad invite. The eighth-year passer also has an extensive past with the Raiders, who rostered him for much of Jon Gruden‘s tenure. Teams have six practice squad slots they can use on vested veterans.

Guyton followed GM Tom Telesco from the Chargers. The ACL tear he suffered early during the 2022 season sidetracked his career, with the former Justin Herbert deep threat — who totaled 959 yards from 2020-21 — catching just 12 passes over the past two seasons. The Raiders kept rookie UDFA Ramel Keyton and third-year UDFA Tyreik McAllister among their six-man receiving corps. Four of the six wideouts on the Raiders’ roster are ex-UDFAs, with only Davante Adams and Tre Tucker being drafted.

The Raiders are using one of their injury activations on Taylor, who arrived via seventh-round pick this year. Elsewhere in the secondary, Webb is off the roster after having previously worked as a three-game starter. This came during Josh McDaniels‘ only full season in charge.

Raiders Add 17 UDFAs

After adding eight rookies via the draft, the Raiders are continuing to add young players to their roster. The team announced that they’ve signed 17 undrafted free agents:

Carter Bradley is one of the most notable names on the list, as the QB tossed 47 touchdowns for South Alabama between 2022 and 2023. The Raiders needed to pay up to add the rookie to their roster. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston, Bradley will earn a $25K signing bonus plus $100K in guaranteed base salary. The front office also gave significant chunks of cash to two undrafted offensive linemen. Furman guard Jake Johanning got a $25K signing bonus and $75K of his base salary guaranteed (via Wilson) while TCU tackle Andrew Coker got a $20K signing bonus and $75K of his salary guaranteed (via Wilson).

On defense, the Raiders gave Ron Stone a $20K signing bonus and $150K in guaranteed base salary (per Wilson). The Washington State product wrapped up his college career with a 2023 campaign where he compiled five sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Meanwhile, Maryland cornerback Ja’Quan Sheppard got a $25K signing bonus and a whopping $205K of his base salary guaranteed (via Wilson). Sheppard finished his lone season with the Terrapins with 31 tackles and eight passes defended.