Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver John Brown (15) runs during an off-season practice at the Raiders practice facility in Henderson Wednesday, June 9, 2021. Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Dillon Stoner (16) is at right.
Monday, Aug. 30, 2021 | 2 a.m.
The broadcast of the Raiders’ preseason finale Sunday afternoon in Santa Clara, Calif., showed coach Jon Gruden frowning and stomping his feet at different times during the game.
The Raiders’ 34-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers wasn’t an enjoyable experience for the fourth-year coach, but if anything could cheer him up, it was the play of undrafted rookie wide receiver Dillon Stoner. The uncompetitive nature of the game was Gruden’s own doing as he allowed his starters to not make the trip and even sat a number of backups on the sidelines.
He instead focused on players at the end of the roster, asking them to go out and state their cases for making the final 53-man squad through their play. No one obliged more than Stoner, an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma State, as he made plays all over the field on offense and special teams.
“It was a tough outing for us, but on the stats sheet, I think he showed up,” Gruden said of Stoner.
The 23-year-old caught three passes for 69 yards in addition to picking up 45 yards on three kickoff returns and fielding punts. Stoner’s big day may further complicate the Raiders’ situation at wide receiver ahead of final roster cuts due at 1 p.m. on Tuesday.
It seemed like Las Vegas was all but set at the position with six players (Henry Ruggs III, Bryan Edwards, Hunter Renfrow, John Brown, Willie Snead and Zay Jones) likely to claim spots as recently as a week ago. But, somewhat out of nowhere, offensive coordinator Greg Olsen said the staff was struggling with the decision on who to keep on Thursday.
The most likely explanation for his vague comments was that the team was captivated by the potential special-teams impact Stoner, D.J. Turner or even Keelan Doss could have over veterans like Jones, Snead and Brown. Stoner outshined Turner and Doss while all three played on Sunday.
Then, when Turner went down with an injury, Stoner kept producing by not only playing the fellow undrafted rookie’s slot position on the offense but also by taking over the whole of returning duties they had been sharing.
“It felt great,” Stoner said of his performance. “It’s been a long preseason, long training camp but it was cool to see some work come to fruition today.”
Jones and Snead were both at Levi’s Stadium for the game but didn’t play to imply that the staff is confident with them. Brown, on the other hand, played throughout and registered only one catch for two yards to perhaps indicate he’s on the roster bubble.
Gruden sort of downplayed including Brown against the 49ers, but also didn’t give a vote of confidence about his roster spot being secure.
“We have to play somebody,” Gruden said when asked about Brown and safety Karl Joseph playing. “Both of those guys have been nicked up throughout camp. We just haven’t had a chance to see them much, so we wanted to see them today. Last call. We wanted to see those guys run around a little bit so we could get some type of evaluation.”
Brown — a seven-year NFL veteran who’s played for the Bills, Ravens and Cardinals — signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Raiders in the offseason, making him the team’s second-highest paid receiver. His deal may now be the biggest argument for his inclusion on the 53-man roster as a $3.2 dead-cap penalty would be applied if the Raiders don’t keep him.
It’s been a rough training camp for Brown, who has been hurt and struggled to produce consistently. Stoner, meanwhile, has turned heads with the way he’s taken to Gruden’s complex offense quickly.
“Coach Gruden did a great job of getting all the rookies in early and really just getting a lot of reps in the offense and understanding the offense,” Stoner said. “We had a rookie minicamp that we really started, and all through OTAs, it was just as many reps as you could get. He didn’t shy away from the rookies. He wanted all of us to understand the offense as a whole. Getting more and more comfortable as each week went on helped me a lot.”
Some draft analysts gave Stoner late-round grades out of Oklahoma State where he became the first player in school history to lead the team in punt return yardage for four straight years. He also wound up in the school’s receiving record books with 2,378 yards (9th all-time) on 191 receptions (6th all-time).
Olsen referred to him as a “strong developmental player” earlier in the week, implying the Raiders would be interested in using one of their 16 practice-squad spots on him this year. But Stoner had one last chance to audition for more on Sunday and made the most of it.
“I think I’m still getting there and I think I’ll always still be getting there,” Stoner said. “I don’t think I’ll ever be totally comfortable in Gruden’s offense. He has never-ending installs, but like I said, just being here early and getting a hold of the playbook early and getting all those reps have helped tremendously.”
The next day will be nerve-wracking for not only Stoner but virtually everyone who played on Sunday as they await phone calls to learn their professional football futures. With 80 players currently on the roster, Las Vegas has to get rid of 27 guys to finalize its regular-season roster.
After Sunday’s game, it’s safe to say Stoner — and by extension it looks like Brown — will be either one of the last inclusions or exclusions.
“This is my first time in this type of situation,” Stoner said. “All you can do is all you can do and I felt like I did that today and leave the rest in God’s hands. I’m super blessed to have made it this far no matter what happens.”
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
