The Las Vegas Raiders elevated tight ends Albert Okwuegbunam and Carter Runyon from the practice squad to the active roster ahead of Sunday’s Week 4 game against the Chicago Bears.
The Raiders enter the
contest thin at tight end. Starter Brock Bowers suffered a knee injury in the season opener, and while he hasn’t missed a game and is expected to play against the Bears, Bowers isn’t 100 percent and has been playing with a knee brace during the last two weeks. Also, second tight end Michael Mayer exited last Sunday’s matchup with the Washington Commanders after suffering a concussion and has already been ruled out for the upcoming contest.
Okwuegbunam is a four-year veteran who has accumulated 54 catches, 546 yards and one touchdown in 30 games (seven starts) with the Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles. He signed with the Raiders at the beginning of training camp and was one of the club’s six veterans added to the practice squad after failing to make the team.
Meanwhile, Runyon is a rookie undrafted free agent. So, this will be his NFL regular-season debut if he sees action against the Bears.
In Other Raiders’ Links:
- Jon Gruden shares thoughts on Pete Carroll: “Well, it’s still early in his regime, let’s not forget that,” Gruden told Derek and David Carr on the Carrs’ Home Grown podcast (h/t Heavy on Raiders’ Austin Boyd). “It’s his third game; he’s only been there for three games. We’ve got to get the running game going. I don’t know what the running game is … but they’ve got to get Ashton Jeanty introduced to Raider Nation. He’s the sixth pick in the draft. We have to get this man going and take some pressure off our offensive line.”
- Jackson Powers-Johnson and Alex Cappa both to play: Carroll said that both Powers-Johnson and Cappa will get snaps at right guard against the Bears, via KTNV’s Nick Walters.
- Fan confidence low: “In this week’s SB Nation Reacts, we asked the Raider Nation what their confidence is in the team’s direction,” our Marcus Johnson wrote. “The results are in, and there was a steep drop to 24%.”
- More playing time for Jamal Adams?: “Adams has logged just 59 snaps for Las Vegas and has seen his snap count drop each week from 25 in week 1, 19 in week 2, and eventually 15 in week 3,” our Tristian Kuhn wrote. “Despite this, Adams has stayed productive, allowing just 11 yards on 3 targets with a PBU with another 6 stops, 8 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 pressures, and a quarterback hit. Adams’ 6 stops rank 2nd on the Raiders tied with Maxx Crosby (186 snaps), Jonah Laulu (101 snaps), and Adam Butler (145 snaps).”
