The Las Vegas Raiders made three roster moves ahead of Sunday’s tilt against the Pittsburgh Steelers, two of which suggest starting WR Jakobi Meyers is in serious trouble of suiting up tomorrow.
Per the team’s PR account, the Raiders activated S Trey Taylor from IR while elevating WRs Alex Bachman and Kristian Wilkerson from the practice squad to the team’s Active/Inactive roster.
While no guarantee, they suggest Meyers’ status is in doubt after ending the week questionable due to an ankle injury. He practiced in a limited capacity Friday after sitting out Wednesday and Thursday. Perhaps this is just insurance against Meyers having an issue in pre-game warmup and it’s also depth with WR Davante Adams definitely out, still sidelined by a hamstring injury as trade rumors continue to swirl.
UPDATE (5:30 PM): Meyers has been downgraded to doubtful due to his injury, creating high odds he won’t see the Steelers tomorrow. That will leave Las Vegas without their top two WRs against Pittsburgh.
Bachman has appeared in six NFL games and been in the league since 2019. He’s appeared in two contests with the Raiders this season, playing a combined 25 snaps on special teams and making two tackles. Bachman has also played exactly one snap in each of his two appearances. He’s dabbled in the return game with the New York Giants and recorded his first and only offensive touch to date, a 3-yard loss on a failed fourth down attempt.
Wilkerson has a similar resume with six appearances from 2020-2024. He caught four passes with the New England Patriots in 2021, scoring on half his catches, but has yet to catch a pass since that season. Wilkerson appeared in two games for the Raiders last year but if active, this will be his first game of 2024.
Taylor is a seventh-round rookie from air Force, eligible under service academy rules to play right away. An impressive athlete with good size, he suffered a knee injury and was placed on IR during final cutdowns. He returned to practice earlier this month and has officially been added to the Raiders’ 53-man roster. They’ve been hampered since losing S Marcus Epps, out for the season since a Week 3 injury.
Pittsburgh and Las Vegas will kickoff tomorrow at 4:05 PM/EST. Inactives are due 90 minutes prior and Meyer’s name will be one to watch for.
Update (2:14 AM): RB Zamir White is also unlikely to play due to a groin injury that caused him to miss Week, per Ian Rapoport. Alexander Mattison and Ameer Abdullah will serve as the team’s top two backs.
