3 Raiders players who won’t be on the roster after training camp

Raiders who won’t be on roster after training camp No. 2: O.J. Howard, TE

There was once a time in NFL circles when O.J. Howard was expected to be the next big thing at tight end. Drafted in the first round out of Alabama by the Buccaneers, he seemed to be the type of game-changing force that could affect every aspect of the game in exceedingly positive ways the way guys like Rob Gronkowski did before him.

We no longer live in that world, though.

With the Raiders parting ways with Darren Waller in the offseason trade with the Giants, O.J. Howard was signed by Vegas on a one-year deal worth just over $1 million. But that happened before Notre Dame tight end shockingly fell to the Raiders at the beginning of the second round in the 2023 NFL Draft and was subsequently selected.

Mayer has a ton of hype as a prospect coming into the professional ranks and for good reason. He has immense upside as a blocker, but looks the part of a terrific short and intermediate threat with the ability to win against linebackers up the seam and be a certified nightmare in red-zone situations.

As for Howard, adding Mayer to the fold likely relegates him to third on the depth chart entering training camp. But with Mayer needing some development and how Austin Hooper as TE1 plays, the Raiders keeping a third tight end on the final 53-man roster would likely give Jesper Horsted the upper hand as the superior blocker to Howard.

It’s wild to think just how far Howard has fallen since he rode the hype train into Tampa Bay, but the reality is there just isn’t a spot for him on the roster in Las Vegas as things currently stand. Throw in that cutting him would save the team more than $600K, and it seems incredibly likely to happen.