Raiders' initial 53-man roster: McAllister makes the cut

Welcome to the NFL, Tyreik McAllister.

You too, Ramel Keyton.

The Raiders had a pair of moderate surprises included on their initial 53-man regular-season roster when it was submitted to the NFL ahead of the 1 p.m. deadline. The two aforementioned receivers both stood out in Las Vegas’ final preseason game, a 24-24 tie with the San Francisco 49ers, and now have a roster spot to show for it.

McAllister scored a pair of touchdowns including an 81-yard punt return, while Keyton led the team with four catches for 76 yards and helped set up the game-tying field goal by Daniel Carlson in the final seconds.

Veterans Kristian Wilkerson and Jalen Guyton may have looked like the favorites to land the final receiver spots for much of training camp, but McAllister and Keyton ended up outplaying them.

McAllister may have a role immediately as a kick returner after excelling in the position for the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats last season. The Division II University of Charleston product was previously a member of the Denver Broncos’ practice squad.

Keyton makes the team as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Tennessee after impressing throughout training camp before his performance against the 49ers.

The only other undrafted rookie free agent to make the team was linebacker Amari Gainer out of North Carolina.

Northern Iowa cornerback Woo Governor seemed to be making a push, but he was ultimately waived in favor of seventh-round pick M.J. Devonshire out of Pittsburgh. That means all the Raiders’ eligible draft picks made the roster for the third consecutive year.

Seventh-round safety Trey Taylor out of Air Force will not technically be on the 53-man roster but he was added to injured reserve designated to return.

All nine draft picks from 2023 are also still on the current roster. But movement isn’t done.

All NFL teams now partake in the waiver process where they can claim players left off rosters around the league. They can also sign released players — those with four or more years of NFL experience — to free-agent contracts. Wilkerson and Guyton, along with quarterback Nathan Peterman, were some of the most notable players released by the Raiders.

Stay tuned for more roster news but here’s how the initial 53-man roster shakes out.

Quarterbacks (2): Gardner Minshew, Aidan O’Connell

Running backs (4): Zamir White, Alexander Mattison, Ameer Abdullah, Dylan Laube

Wide receivers (6): Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker, DJ Turner, Tyreik McAllister, Ramel Keyton

Offensive linemen (9): Kolton Miller, Cody Whitehair, Andre James, Dylan Parham, Thayer Munford, D.J. Glaze, Andrus Peat, Jackson Powers-Johnson, Jordan Meredith

Tight ends (3): Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer, Harrison Bryant

Defensive linemen (9): Maxx Crosby, Christian Wilkins, Malcolm Koonce, John Jenkins, Adam Butler, Janarius Robinson Tyree Wilson, Byron Young, Nesta Jade Silvera

Linebackers (7): Robert Spillane, Divine Deablo, Tommy Eichenberg, Luke Masterson, Amari Gainer, Amari Burney, Kan’i Magua

Cornerbacks (6): Jack Jones, Nate Hobbs Jakorian Bennett, Brandon Facyson, Decamerion Richardson, M.J. Devonshire

Safeties (4): Marcus Epps, Tre’von Moehrig, Isaiah Pola-Mao, Chris Smith

Specialists (3): Daniel Carlson, AJ Cole, Jacob Bobenmoyer

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