Willie Snead was on vacation when the phone rang. It was Raiders coach Jon Gruden and he needed some help changing the culture in Las Vegas. (Apparently, the old culture hopped the flight from Oakland as well.)
The veteran receiver is all in, signing a one-year deal Friday to join an already crowded Raiders receiving group. Snead, 28, had 33 catches for 432 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games for the Ravens last season.
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“I have been a part of big games and I know what it takes to win,” Snead said in a Zoom news conference on Friday. “I definitely think that bringing me in and bringing in a John Brown, those types of guys, we can definitely change the culture here. I am just excited about having the opportunity to give some of my leadership to this organization.”
Nelson Agholor, who had won a Super Bowl ring with the Eagles, emerged as a leader last season, but the receiver signed with the Patriots this month.
Snead said he watched a lot of close Raiders games on television last year “and sometimes it takes just one or two pieces to get over that hump.”
It seems just like yesterday that Snead was on the Saints and torching the Raiders for 172 yards in the 2016 season opener.
How he fits
The 5-foot-11, 205-pound Snead, once undrafted out of Ball State, is now a grizzled, tough slot receiver who can also play outside. He had 126 catches for 1,422 yards and nine touchdowns over the past three seasons in Baltimore.
He recently tweeted, “Any receiver can be a ‘true #1′, if they are in a system that allows them to be” and in his mind, is surely getting ready to fight slot receiver Hunter Renfrow and the others for playing time.
2021 impact
The Raiders might not have a true No. 1 receiver (besides tight end Darren Waller) but they definitely have some depth, with newcomers Brown and Snead joining Henry Ruggs III, Bryan Edwards, Renfrow and Zay Jones.
Can the Raiders really carry six receivers? I mean, they carried four tight ends and five receivers last season and Jason Witten retired, so maybe.
Draft impact
The Raiders don’t need to draft a receiver. Besides the six mentioned above, they also have Keelan Doss and Marcel Ateman on the offseason roster.
Cap update
The terms of the Snead deal were undisclosed, but the Raiders should have around $5 million for a safety and a veteran cornerback after the Carl Nassib and Marcus Mariota restructures. There is no rush to sign a free safety as the market has slowed way down and there are still a handful of potential starting options available. Might as well set your price and wait. (Former Charger and Panther Tre Boston seems like a good fit.)
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Outlook
Did the Raiders need to sign a receiver? No. Did you need that next handful of chips? Probably not, but it tasted good, right? Gruden loves veteran receivers — make a list of his top five favorite things and they probably come somewhere between his family members, watching football tape, Van Halen and a good steak. Snead is a Gruden Grinder. Best-case scenario, he makes an impact on the field. Worst case, he rubs off some of that experience and wisdom on Renfrow, Ruggs and Edwards.
(Photo: Adam Glanzman / Getty Images)
