Thursday, Raiders starting receiver Jakobi Meyers suddenly missed practice with an ankle injury. Friday morning, head coach Antonio Pierce said Meyers would be full go for practice, but when the official injury report came out, Meyers was limited with the ankle and officially Questionable for the game.
The Raiders can ill afford to lose any receivers due to their already lacking depth at the position, especially after DJ Turner was placed on injured reserve this week. But of all the receivers they can least afford to lose, it’s Meyers.
Pierce seemed confident Meyers would be able to play Sunday in Tampa, but Saturday the team made a contingency plan, elevating Kristian Wilkerson.
The four-year veteran originally signed with the Raiders in May of 2023 and has been with the team off and on since then. He appeared in two games last season with one start and this would be his third game with the team this season. He has two catches for 18 yards and a touchdown this season.
Earlier this week, they signed practice squad wide receiver Terrace Marshall to fill the spot on the depth chart when Turner was placed on IR.
But even with Marshall, the Raiders had just four wide receivers on the active roster. Should Meyers be unable to go, they would have been left with just three, making the Wilkerson elevation a must, if only to ensure they could field a full starting lineup with one reserve.
