The Raiders’ receiver room is becoming a problem that’s hard to ignore.
After Sunday’s loss to the Rams, Las Vegas has now dropped four straight, and the cracks are showing everywhere. The defense was sloppy.
The offensive line still isn’t opening lanes in the run game. Ashton Jeanty isn’t forcing missed tackles.
And in the middle of all that, the wideouts remain one of the clearest weak spots on the roster.
Tre Tucker has at least given the team something to hang onto. He’s playing himself into a big payday next season, and his performance stands out because not much else did in Week 8. Outside of Tucker, the Raiders didn’t get meaningful production from the receiver group against Los Angeles.
That was the point former Raiders great Lincoln Kennedy hammered on Tuesday. On the Locked on Raiders Squad Show, Kennedy said the Rams were beating Las Vegas’ receivers in one-on-one situations and that the lack of separation was a real problem.
“There were so many times where the Rams just played man-to-man coverage. Not notably, they have one of the better defenses in the league, statistically.
I get that. But there are times where you have to win.
You have to give your quarterback a little bit more separation to where he can find a way to get it in,” Kennedy said on the Locked on Raiders Squad Show.
“Cousins might not be known as the most accurate quarterback, but he does have decent accuracy in a short intermediate range.
No separation. It really was disappointing.
I had to put my head down. I was mad.”
The bigger picture for Las Vegas is tricky. Tucker is on a path toward making upwards of $15 million per year if this continues, which means the Raiders may have already missed their best shot to lock him in at a bargain rate. There were contract talks before the season, and in hindsight, the club should have found a way to make the numbers work.
Now the price has jumped, and the Raiders still need to think about keeping him in the fold. His return in 2027 should be a priority, because going into the offseason without Tucker near the top of the depth chart would be a risky place to be.
Even with the rising cost, the expectation is that both sides will try to work something out before free agency opens. Tucker checks a lot of boxes for this front office: he works hard, and he fits what GM John Spytek wants in a player when it comes to character and presence in the locker room.
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