Amid the Las Vegas Raiders‘ roster shake-up under new head coach Pete Carroll, veteran wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson was released. He had spent the previous two years with the team, but with some young wide receiver talent coming in, there was no reason to keep him.
Wilkerson was a favorite of former head coach Josh McDaniels, so a reunion with the New England Patriots could’ve made some sense. However, he’s decided to go to another AFC East team.
The Buffalo Bills announced that they’ve signed Wilkerson to a contract. He’ll now be able to catch passes from Josh Allen, which should be a major upgrade over Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell.
Wilkerson has mostly served as a special teams player and a solid blocker for a receiver. He only has six career catches and nine games played, so he may face an uphill battle trying to make the roster. Time will tell if he’ll finally be able to break out as an impact player.
Geno Smith Praises Chip Kelly
While Wilkerson is going to a much more explosive offense, he’s going to be missing out on a revamped offense for the Raiders. Not only did they bring in Geno Smith as quarterback, but they also hired Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator.
Smith and Kelly have only had a handful of practices together, but the quarterback is confident in what the coach has planned.
“We’ve always had a rapport with one another, which has made the transition smooth,” Geno Smith told The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen. “And so, learning this offense, I’ve been in three different systems in three years. And so I’ve been able to adjust, and that’s something that I’m good at. I can adjust. And so, just an adjustment period, but the offense is really good. I’m looking forward to it. Won’t give too many details, but we’re looking to be explosive and efficient.”
Smith Talks Study Habits
It’s easy to disregard Smith as a top quarterback due to his extended time as a backup. However, he never stopped working hard, which is why he was able to become a solid starter.
Smith should have a lot of control over the offense once the season starts, and he thinks that he’s proven that he’s earned the right to exercise some of that control.
“Every single coordinator I’ve played under, they understand how much film I study,” Smith said. “They understand how well I can see the defense pre- and post-snap. And so they give me a lot of the abilities to go out there and make those things happen. But again, it’s all about what can our guys do as a group? It’s never about what I can do myself. I believe in myself, but it’s a collective effort. And so we’ve got to make sure that all the guys are always on the same page. … We’re working on that. But I know that Chip knows that I can see the game.”
Kelly and Smith should help turn the Raiders’ offense into a much more potent attack than it was last year.
