Raiders look to firm up 53-man roster in final preseason game

Fourth-year receiver DJ Turner drew some of the loudest roars from the crowd in the Raiders’ home preseason opener against the Cowboys last week, and it wasn’t just the Allegiant Stadium fans who reacted to his big night.

On Wednesday night before the final practice of training camp, Las Vegas coach Antonio Pierce made a pushing motion with his hands to imply Turner was safe for a roster spot at one of the team’s most crowded positions.

“He’s good,” Pierce said. “We’re good with him.”

The 27-year-old former undrafted free agent out of Pittsburgh may still play at 7 p.m. in tonight’s preseason finale against the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant, but it sounds like he can rest as easily as his first-string teammates.

Pierce centered his first training camp on competition and pushing everyone equally, requiring even most starters to play at least entire halves in the Raiders’ first two preseason games, both losses. But that won’t be the case tonight for the game that airs on Fox 5.

Las Vegas’ starters won’t take the field as the entire 60 minutes will be dedicated to the players closer to the bottom of the current 90-man roster.

The Raiders, along with the other 31 NFL franchises, must cut down to their 53-man regular-season roster by 1 p.m. Tuesday. That makes the final preseason game one last chance for hopefuls to make an impression, not just for the possibility to land on the initial roster but also perhaps in one of the 16 available practice-squad spots.

Turner came into the start of training camp in Costa Mesa, Calif., on the roster bubble but now appears to not be among the swath of players that Pierce tried to address with a pointed message this week.

“I told those guys they’ve got a great opportunity for themselves competing for a roster spot not only for the Raiders but the entire National Football League because we know we’re not going to have everybody on our roster,” Pierce said. “There are going to be opportunities on the practice squad or other teams. We’re competing in front of everybody. This is a big week for them. I think it’s critical for some of the guys that we’re going to play that might have two or three years in the league to prove they can take that next step.”

Wide receiver might still be the position group most worth watching, at least on offense, against the 49ers.

Teams most commonly keep five receivers, and the Raiders now appear to have four spots claimed with Turner joining the clear top three of Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers and Tre Tucker.

Free-agent acquisition/former Dallas Cowboy Michael Gallup seemed likely to make the roster coming into training camp, but he surprised many in the organization by deciding to retire. Two other veterans emerged in his stead in Kristian Wilkerson, a holdover from last year’s roster, and Jalen Guyton, a former Los Angeles Charger.

Guyton and Wilkerson could be trying to outdo each other tonight and make the most of targets from undrafted rookie quarterback Carter Bradley, who will get the start, and second-time Raider/eighth-year passer Nathan Peterman.

Neither recently named starting quarterback Gardner Minshew nor his backup Aidan O’Connell will play.

“I just like to work so whatever play comes, just try to do my best,” Wilkerson said. “I really don’t gauge if I’m having a good one or a bad camp.”

Wilkerson undoubtedly got off to a strong start this summer, looking like he was bound to make the initial roster for the second consecutive year after grabbing potentially the final receiver spot last season. Without Gallup and Adams, who had some time away from the team on paternity leave, Wilkerson appeared to get even more reps and catches than Turner in practice.

But the Raiders also began giving more looks to seven other receivers on the roster including undrafted rookie free agents like Ramel Keyton (Tennessee) and Tulu Griffin (Mississippi State). Guyton also eventually returned from an injury that kept him sidelined at the start of camp. 

Wilkerson and Guyton share near-identical physical profiles — both are listed at 6-foot-1 with the former two pounds heavier at 214 — but scouting reports on them differ. Wilkerson is known as more of a possession receiver while Guyton has been a downfield threat so far in his career.

Pierce has some comfort and familiarity with Wilkerson from last season, while general manager Tom Telesco was directly responsible for bringing Guyton to Las Vegas.

“He’s been real solid for me in my career,” Guyton said of Telesco. “I was with the Chargers for five years, and all five of those years, I have to thank for Tom. He gave me a shot and I battled it out and he kept me around. I can’t be more thankful for him, can’t be more thankful for this opportunity he’s given me this year.”

The Raiders could also decide to keep six wide receivers, especially if they see Turner as more of a special-teams ace. That was his role last year when he got hurt in training camp before signing to the practice squad in October and playing in the final 10 games of the year.

But the slippery 5-foot-9, 205-pound Turner envisions more opportunities this year, and Pierce’s enthusiasm indicates he just might get them.

“Right now, I do feel like I’m taking a step forward in being able to establish a role in this offense,” Turner said. “It’s been a goal since I’ve got out here and I’m going to keep moving towards it.”

Pierce could point at Turner as a success story for the unheralded prospects at the end of the roster this year. Turner has spent his entire NFL career in Las Vegas, getting a practice-squad spot in 2021 before making the roster in 2022 and breaking through at least on special teams last year.

His special-teams prowess isn’t going anywhere if the game against the Cowboys was any indication, as he had a fumble recovery on a muffed punt and a 13-yard punt return in addition to a team-high five receptions on offense.

Turner earned one of the roster spots that seemed to be open at the start of training camp, and it’s almost time to see who will join him. 

“I don’t think it’s ever easy telling a gentleman that they don’t have a spot here,” Pierce said. “You don’t want to tell them they can’t play in the National Football League. You’ve got to keep going. Sometimes it’s not your year, you might not be a fit, it might be a roster number, it might be a situation where you draft a guy at a position, whatever it may be. I don’t look forward to it, but it’s all part of business. We understand that.”  

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