Articles by Austin Boyd

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New Las Vegas Raiders WR Marquez Callaway.

The Las Vegas Raiders love wide receivers. They kept six on the active roster and are set to have another three on the practice squad.According to an August 30 post on Twitter/X by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Raiders are signing former New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marquez Callaway to the practice squad.

Free agent receiver Marquez Callaway will be signing with the #Raiders practice squad, per source. Waived by Denver this week, Callaway had 1,069 yards and seven touchdowns with the New Orleans since 2020.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) August 31, 2023
Callaway joins wide receivers Devin Ross and Antoine Wesley on the practice squad. However, he should have a bit of a leg up on them. He’s been in the NFL since 2020 when he was an undrafted free agent of the Saints. He spent three years with the team and was their leading receiver in 2021 with 698 yards.He hasn’t replicated that success in subsequent years as he only had 158 receiving yards last season. Callaway signed with the Denver Broncos in free agency but wasn’t able to break through and make their active roster. The Raiders have plenty of wide receiver talent on the active roster but having a veteran like Callaway on the practice squad gives them some good depth in case of injury, especially with Phillip Dorsett heading to Denver.Josh McDaniels Talks Kristian Wilkerson Making RosterOne of the big surprises of training camp was Kristian Wilkerson. The veteran wide receiver didn’t play last season due to injury but was able to land with the Raiders this offseason. He has previously worked with Josh McDaniels on the New England Patriots in 2020 and 2021 but had to beat out veterans like Keelan Cole and Phillip Dorsett.He was able to make it happen and is now on the active roster. McDaniels praised Wilkerson for the work he has put in this offseason.“K-Wilks [Kristian Wilkerson] worked really hard since I’ve known him,” McDaniels said during his August 30 media availability. “He had an injury last year, it was kind of an unfortunate situation, and in training camp last year, where he kind of didn’t really have an opportunity to have a season last year. So, I think he’s worked really hard to put himself in position to compete this year in camp, and I thought he did some good things in the summer. I thought he did some good things in the games, competed hard, and not only on offense, but in the kicking game as well.”The Raiders have a deep wide receiver room, which made things a lot more difficult for the team’s decision-makers.“That room was very competitive,” McDaniels said. “It was probably one of the more competitive rooms we’ve had in the two years we’ve been here – tough decisions, and just felt like he had done enough to really earn an opportunity.”Josh McDaniels Explains Decision to Keep 3 QBsLast season, the Raiders only kept Derek Carr and Jarrett Stidham as the quarterbacks on the active roster to start the year. This season, the team is keeping three between Jimmy Garoppolo, Aidan O’Connell and Brian Hoyer. Josh McDaniels explained what went into that decision.“No, I mean not really. It was to go with three, and not for any specific reason other than we felt like we had three guys that were capable of being roster players,” McDaniels said. “Aidan [O’Connell] has obviously got a lot of developing in front of him, Brian has played plenty of football, and obviously we’re excited about Jimmy [Garoppolo]. So, feel like we’ve got a good room.” […]

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Las Vegas Raiders WR Davante Adams.

Despite a disappointing 6-11 season for the Las Vegas Raiders last year, the offense did finish 11th in yards per game with 231.4 on average. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is replacing Derek Carr for 2023 and he’s a better fit in Josh McDaniels‘ offense due to his previous experience under the coach during his time with the New England Patriots. Just that one change could lead to an improved offense.However, there are still major concerns about the Raiders. Fox Sports predicted in a May 12 column for the team to go 4-13. If the team is truly that bad, it could lead to issues down the road. Star wide receiver Davante Adams is 30 now and a rebuild doesn’t fit his timeline. In a June 30 column, ESPN’s Dan Graziano hinted that Adams could request a trade if things go south this season.“But things could get ugly in a hurry for the Raiders, who have seen a major overhaul since McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler got there 17 months ago but don’t appear to be any better. In fact, some might say they appear to be worse than the team that finished the 2021 season on a playoff run under interim coach Rich Bisaccia with Carr as its emotional leader,” Graziano wrote.“If that’s the case, will Adams want out? At the trade deadline? After the season? The potential for Adams to be on the move again so soon after bailing out of Green Bay is worth watching. And if it comes to that, it might be hard to blame him.”Davante Adams Recently Said He’s Happy to Be a Las Vegas RaiderDavante Adams grew up a fan of the Raiders and being closer to family was a big reason why he wanted to get traded to the team. As of recently, he has made it clear that he’s happy with the team and doesn’t have any intention of trying to force his way out.“At the end of the day, I’m a Raider and I’m excited to be here,” Adams said during his May 25 media availability. “I love my head coach and I love the general manager here and everybody from the top to the bottom. I have no reason to lie. I mean, one thing I don’t do is BS, so I’m not going to make anything up when it comes to that. I’d rather keep my mouth closed if I have negative things to say, but when I say that these are some good men in this place and that I really value the relationship I have with them, I mean that.”What Will It Take for Davante Adams to Request Trade?Davante Adams is saying all the right things now, but it’s the offseason and teams are feeling as good as they will all year. If the Raiders get off to a rough start, things could start to get tense. Prior to joining Las Vegas, Adams was part of three straight Green Bay Packers teams that won 13 games. Last season was rough enough, but if the team is heading in the wrong direction, that could cause the wide receiver to start souring on the franchise.Whether or not Adams stays happy could come down to the healthy of Jimmy Garoppolo. He’s a good enough quarterback to get Adams the ball at a consistent rate. His backup is Brian Hoyer, who hasn’t won a start since 2016. If Garoppolo goes down and Adams has to catch passes from Hoyer, it’s easy to see him get frustrated and want out. […]

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Derek Carr with Josh McDaniels.

After a lackluster 2022 that saw Derek Carr post an 86.3 passer rating, the lowest since his rookie year in 2014, the Las Vegas Raiders decided to move on from the quarterback. He landed with the New Orleans Saints and has quickly impressed teammates. In nine years as a starter, Carr went 63-79 and never won a playoff game.
The Saints are hoping to change the losing ways in his first season in New Orleans. Tight Juwan Johnson believes that much of the losing was due to a lack of stability in coaching and on offense throughout the year for the Raiders.
“I feel like with Derek, there’s a lot of things you can do,” Johnson said in a June 28 interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio. “He’s been in an offense where he’s had Josh McDaniels, Jon Gruden, so he has a lot of that he can bring over to our offense. Obviously, we have a lot of pieces on our offense — which I think he’s probably never had before. So that’s something that he can use a little bit.
“So, a big credit to Pete — Pete’s been working his tail off this offseason. We’ve got some stuff in there that I’m like, ‘Pete, I’ve never seen this before, but I like it.’ So, I’m really excited for Pete going into Year Two. He’s been behind Sean for so long. So, he’s learned a lot and he’s ready to blow up now.”

Derek Carr Had Loaded Offense in 2022
For much of his career, Derek Carr did not have great offensive personnel to work with. However, that wasn’t the case in 2022. The Raiders already had a Pro Bowl wide receiver in Hunter Renfrow and then added Davante Adams, who many believe is the best wide receiver in the NFL. That’s not to mention the team had Darren Waller, who was the highest-paid tight end in the NFL, and the league’s leading rusher Josh Jacobs.
Carr had plenty of weapons to work with last season but had one of his worst seasons as a professional. The lack of consistency in coaching is certainly a valid excuse. Carr had six different head coaches during his time with the Raiders. If the Saints can keep a consistent coaching staff around Carr, that could be what he needs to play at a high level across multiple seasons.

Juwan Johnson Compares Derek Carr to Drew Brees
Since Drew Brees retired after the 2020 season, the Saints have missed the playoffs in back-to-back years. That was after four straight playoff berths led by Brees. The hope is that Derek Carr can bring back some stability at quarterback. Juwan Johnson does see some similarities between Brees and Carr.
“It honestly felt like we’ve been working with Derek for a while now, so OTAs was really good, really smooth,” Johnson said. “He’s giving me more of a feel — because he’s an older guy — he’s giving me a lot of Drew [Brees]. Going into the huddle, commanding the huddle, guys gravitating toward him — these are things [I saw from] how Drew conducted the offense and things like that.
“So, it’s giving me similar feels. And so I’m really excited about what Derek has and how he’s going to move this offense.” […]