Raiders send receiver Bryan Edwards to Falcons for draft pick

By Case Keefer (contact)

Friday, May 13, 2022 | 1:22 p.m.

The new Raiders’ regime continued to makeover the roster Friday afternoon, 10 days before the official start of organized team activities.

Third-year receiver Bryan Edwards is the latest player on the way out, as general manager Dave Ziegler agreed to trade him to the Atlanta Falcons along with a seventh-round draft pick in exchange for a fifth-round pick according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Former general manager Mike Mayock and coach Jon Gruden selected Edwards in the third round, 80^th overall, out of South Carolina in the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Raiders had five picks in the first three rounds that year, and Edwards was infamously the last one remaining on the roster following the cuts of Henry Ruggs III, Damon Arnette and Tanner Muse as well as the trade of Lynn Bowden. Edwards became expendable after the Raiders traded for Davante Adams as well as signed Demarcus Robinson, Mack Hollins and Keelan Cole this offseason.

Edwards projected to compete for the wide receiver starting spot opposite Adams, inside of slot receiver Hunter Renfrow, in training camp. He started 12 games last year but failed to make a major impact even in a thinned receiving corps with 34 receptions for 571 yards and three touchdowns.

Edwards struggled to separate from the line of scrimmage in coverage, but had a knack for using his 6-foot-3, 212-frame to make catches in traffic. That helped him appear to be on the verge of a breakthrough in last year’s training camp, but it never fully materialized once the regular season began.

Edwards joins a pair of former Raiders in quarterback Marcus Mariota and cornerback Casey Hayward who signed with the Falcons this offseason. Ziegler and new coach Josh McDaniels reportedly made a push to keep Hayward before he bolted for Atlanta, but they’ve been more willing to cut ties with other big-name players brought to Las Vegas by Mayock and Gruden.

They started free agency by trading edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue, a team captain last week, and recently announced they wouldn’t exercise the fifth-year option on any of Gruden’s three first-round draft picks from 2019.

Edwards was once seen as a potential part of the future core, but plans have changed under Ziegler and McDaniels.

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or