The Oakland Raiders officially re-signed Jalen Richard on Wednesday night, bringing back a tremendous weapon for their offense.
Early in the offseason, the Oakland Raiders placed a second-round tender on Jalen Richard, hoping that they would have him back for the 2019 campaign. On Wednesday night, that became a reality, as the team signed him to a deal worth about $3 million dollar for the upcoming season.
By bringing back Richard, the Raiders hold on to a guy who played a huge role in their offense in 2018, and will also again in 2019. While he may not catch as many balls as he did last season, thanks to the addition of guys like Antonio Brown, J.J. Nelson, and Tyrell Williams, he will be someone to keep an eye on for sure.
Last season, Richard had his best year as a member of the Raiders, hauling in 68 passes from quarterback Derek Carr.
Already this offseason, the Raiders have brought in Isaiah Crowell to the running back room, and have 2018 preseason star Chris Warren III returning from injury. Richard will slide right back into the depth chart at running back, but it does not close the door on the Raiders using one of their eight draft picks later this month on the position.
Doug Martin and Marshawn Lynch were the two feature backs last season, and neither is on the team as we inch closer to the draft. While nothing has been said about Martin, head coach Jon Gruden has stated he would like to have Lynch back, but they will revisit that after the draft ends.
The bottom line is, Richard became one of the better pass-catching running backs in the NFL last season, and Carr can trust him. With so many new faces on this offense, bringing back Richard was a smart move by the Raiders, who are coming closer to finalizing their running back group for the 2019 NFL season.