Roberts survives round of roster cuts
Seth Roberts’ rise from the practice squad gained momentum Tuesday as the Raiders cut four receivers, including former Patriot Kenbrell Thompkins.
Thompkins, who had 15 catches for Oakland last season, had been lining up on most of the first-team threereceiver sets in training camp. But he didn’t make any plays in the first three preseason games and was let go, along with Josh Harper, Milton Williams III and return specialist Trindon Holliday.
Roberts, who caught 40 passes for 857 yards in his senior season at West Alabama in 2013, has eight catches for a team-high 133 yards this preseason. With Andre Holmes out with a hand injury, Roberts could be one of five receivers to make the roster, along with Michael Crabtree, Amari Cooper, Rod Streater and Brice Butler.
“I have my mind set on making this team,” Roberts said. “If I don’t make it I would be hurt, but right now I am not even thinking about the cut-down days.”
There seems to be an opening for a slot receiver now, and quarterback Derek Carr likes the options.
“In the slot, something you want to see is if you can get a guy that has size and an explosive burst,” Carr said. “And we have a lot of guys right now that have that size and that burst. We have guys competing, and it’s going to go down all the way to Week 1.”
Six-foot-5 free-agent signee Kris Durham, who had a touchdown last week, and kick returner Devon Wylie also survived the cut-down from 90 to 75 players.
One spot was cleared up when the Raiders placed right tackle Menelik Watson on the injured reserve list after he ruptured his Achilles tendon in Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals.
Running back Trent Richardson’s release was also made official. The former No. 3 overall pick leaves with a $600,000 parting gift, the guaranteed money the Raiders gave him when he signed a two-year deal in March.
Former Nevada quarterback Cody Fajardo, punter Steven Clark, cornerbacks James Dockery, Ras-I Dowling and Rob Daniel, safety Jimmy Hall and guard Lamar Mady were also waived.
Teams must reduce their roster to 53 players by 1 p.m. Saturday. Moore in limbo: Outside linebacker Sio Moore doesn’t seem to be in the new coaching staff ’s plans. He started 22 games his first two years, but missed most of training camp and the first two preseason games with an injury.
He was back Sunday but watched the defensive backups from the bench, getting only 10 plays on special teams. It would seem like coach Jack Del Rio would want to see the 2013 third-round pick play Thursday in Seattle.
“It’s possible we’ll get him in, yeah,” Del Rio said. “I’m not sure that I would try and describe it any other way than we’re playing the guys that we need to get a look at. We’ll continue to finish our evaluation through the last week.” Offensive plans: The first team struggled in the loss to the Cardinals on Sunday, but Del Rio said that wouldn’t make him lean toward playing Carr and the starters more in Seattle in the preseason finale.
“Nothing that occurred prior to now is going to change (things), whether it’s been good or bad,” Del Rio said. “We feel like the team has prepared well for the season. We’ll finish our preparation leading up to our home opener, but prior to that we’ve got some work to do.”
Del Rio has been preparing reporters all preseason for being in the dark regarding who plays and how much.
“I have my mind set on making this team. ... Right now I am not even thinking about the cut-down days.”
Seth Roberts, wide receiver