Raiders Urged to Sign Speedy Former 2nd-Round Pick WR

Getty Free agent Terrace Marshall Jr.

The Las Vegas Raiders have been depleted at wide receiver following the Davante Adams trade. Though the team has Jakobi Meyers, who is capable of being a WR1, he’s missed the last two games with an ankle injury.

The team’s passing offense has suffered and they’ve only scored a combined 28 points the last two games. The Raiders may want to consider bringing in some wide receiver help and Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report pegged Terrace Marshall Jr. as a player they should target.

“The Raiders traded Davante Adams last week, so it doesn’t make much sense for them to go out and trade for another receiver,” Ballentine wrote in an October 21 column. “However, it would make sense for them to take a low-risk swing on a receiver like Terrace Marshall as an in-season free-agent signing.

“Marshall has some potential as a second-round pick who was stuck in Carolina’s revolving door of coaches and quarterbacks. The San Francisco 49ers picked him up and recently released him, but he will probably get one more shot to stick in the league based on his draft pedigree.”

Marshall is a free agent right now and would be a low-risk move for the Raiders to make.

Background on Terrace Marshall Jr.

Marshall was very successful in college and was a key part of the iconic 2019 LSU team that went undefeated and won the National Championship. This led to him being a second-round pick of the Carolina Panthers in 2021.

Despite Marshall being a touchdown machine in college, he has only been able to score one touchdown at the NFL level. He was most recently on the San Francisco 49ers‘ practice squad but got cut.

Marshall is only 24 so there could still be potential there. He’s got good size at 6-foot-2 and also runs a 4.40 40-yard dash. He has the tools to be a good wide receiver but hasn’t put it together at the NFL level yet. The Raiders are desperate for some wide receiver help and Marshall would be a smart player to take a flyer on. They can start him out on the practice squad and see if he can work his way up to the active roster.

Raiders Likely Won’t Make Any Big Moves This Season

There are notable wide receivers who could be available. The Raiders could trade for Mike Williams or sign somebody like Michael Thomas but it seems like they’re not too concerned with making any big moves this season.

The team is 2-5 and has massive quarterback issues. The only realistic way to fix those quarterback issues is for them to draft one early. The Raiders won’t say that they’re tanking but there’s no reason for them to add older veterans right now.

The rest of the season should be about developing young players and making sure they have an early draft pick. The worst outcome is that the Raiders win seven or eight games, miss the playoffs and pick outside of the top 10. That doesn’t help them get a quarterback. It’s possible the Raiders turn things around this season with the pieces that they have but it’s hard to imagine general manager Tom Telesco is going to take any more big swings this year.