The Raiders shuffled their receiver room on Tuesday, and Cody White was the most notable beneficiary. Las Vegas placed Jack Bech on injured reserve, signed White to the active roster, waived Justin Shorter and brought Phillip Dorsett II onto the practice squad.
Bech is out for at least four games while he works back from a broken forearm, and White’s promotion had been easy to see coming. The Raiders had already used all three of White’s practice squad call-ups, so keeping him available for Week 4 meant putting him on the active roster. For now, he steps in as the replacement for Bech.
What makes White interesting, though, is that his value might go beyond simply filling a roster spot.
He has been a dead-eye red-zone target so far. White has caught all three of his receptions for touchdowns, and every one of those throws from Kirk Cousins came inside the 14-yard line. He found the end zone twice in the second half of the Raiders’ Week 2 game against the Los Angeles Chargers, then followed that with another score that gave Las Vegas a 28-27 lead in the fourth quarter of last Sunday’s game.
That kind of production has already put White in the conversation as a specialist who can flip a game late. One X user, Baseballer9511, compared him to Seth Roberts, and the resemblance is easy to understand.
Roberts became known around Raider Nation for showing up when it mattered most. He scored five of his 15 touchdowns in the fourth quarter or overtime, and nine came in the second half.
Even so, he never topped 45 catches or 494 receiving yards in a season.
Former Raiders quarterback Derek Carr leaned on Roberts in key moments, and early on, Cousins seems to trust White in a similar way. White now leads the team in touchdown receptions.
There’s also a built-in connection with head coach Klint Kubiak. White spent time with Kubiak last year with the Seattle Seahawks, where he was mostly a special teams piece, playing 45% of the snaps and catching three passes for 90 yards and a touchdown.
In Las Vegas, the opportunity could be much bigger. With Bech sidelined, White has a chance to carve out a larger offensive role.
According to Pro Football Focus, Kubiak lined Bowers up wide and in the slot for 44 combined snaps in his season debut, forcing defenses to treat him like a receiver instead of an inline tight end. Tre Tucker remains a steady starter, while Nailor has been on the field for 59% of the offensive snaps.
If Kubiak trims Nailor’s workload because of his catch inefficiency, White could end up seeing more time on the outside opposite Tucker, with Bowers moving into the slot.
White may not be a player who lives on the field snap after snap. But when the Raiders get into scoring territory, the 6-foot-3, 227-pound receiver has already shown he can be the guy who changes the scoreboard.
In Other News...
Raiders Head Into Chiefs Test With One Big Availability Problem
The week leading into a trip to Kansas City has already turned into an availability check for Las Vegas, with Klint Kubiak navigating a long list of injured and limited players before a matchup that will demand as close to full strength as possible. Brock Bowers, Darien Porter, Treydan Stukes, Ashton Jeanty, Jack Bech and Jackson Powers-Johnson have all been part of the conversation, leaving the Raiders trying to sort through who can actually be counted on in a game that rarely leaves much margin for error.
The timing makes the contrast even sharper because the Chiefs enter the week in far better shape, with only Josh Simmons potentially sidelined and L'Jarius Sneed limited in practice. For a Raiders team trying to steady itself early in the season, the concern is not just the names on the injury report but how thin the margin gets if more than one of them cannot go against a division rival that is usually ready to pounce on any weakness. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Need More From Their New Receiver Than Hidden Contributions
Jalen Nailor arrived in Las Vegas with the kind of deal that suggested a real role was coming, but the first three games have mostly featured the quieter parts of his game. He has only five catches for 52 yards on 11 targets, yet the Raiders have still found reasons to keep him involved because of the work he does away from the ball, especially as a blocker and as a piece that can help open space for others.
For a team looking for more reliability in the passing game, those hidden contributions are useful, but they can only carry a receiver so far. The bigger question now is whether Nailors role starts to grow as the season unfolds, with game planning and his own production likely deciding how much more of the offense comes his way. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Face A Familiar Threat In AFC West Test
The Raiders head into Week 4 facing the kind of AFC West test that can expose every crack in a defense, and the biggest concern is Kansas Citys ground game. Las Vegas has had trouble stopping the run, and the Chiefs have built a rushing attack that can tilt a game early if it is not checked at the line of scrimmage. For a Raiders team trying to settle in under Klint Kubiak, that makes this matchup about more than divisional bragging rights.
Kenneth Walker III only sharpens the challenge. The former Raider is now part of a Chiefs offense that already has a clear identity on the ground, and his familiarity gives this game an extra layer of intrigue for Las Vegas. The Raiders know what is coming, but knowing and stopping it are different things, especially in a division game where one sustained run drive can change the feel of the afternoon. [Read more 🡒]