DJ

Turner

The 28-year-old wideout finished 2024 with a career-best 16/158/1 receiving line before going down in Week 13 with a knee injury that forced him to season-ending injured reserve. New management did not want to spend a tender on Turner and will likely seek to rebuild the wideout room in Vegas. It is unknown at this time if Turner’s knee injury will alter his offseason timeline in any way.

The wideout — not to be confused with the cornerback DJ Turner of the Bengals — likely finishes his age-27 season with a career-high 16/158/1 triple slash line. (The Raiders could technically bring him back for Week 18, we don’t expect them to.) The 2021 UDFA out of Pittsburgh will be a restricted free agent in 2025. It is hard to predict what the Raiders will do with him given the fact that we’re not sure who will sit in the head coach or general manager chair in 2025, but Turner has been a Raider long enough to have played for Jon Gruden.

We’d call him unlikely to return based on his inability to put weight on his knee before coming off between the arms of two members of the Vegas staff. Turner broke a tackle on a short catch for a 25-yard gain on his only target before leaving.

Turner has struggled to both earn and secure targets all year so his four receptions against the Chiefs ended up being a season-high. He is not on the re-draft radar against the Bengals in Week 9.

Turner’s box score failings are hardly all his own, however, he has yet to prove himself as a NFL starter. He is off the re-draft radar against the Chiefs in Week 8.

Turner saw a slight uptick in usage with Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers sidelined and made a really nice contested catch over Joey Porter Jr. but he also got hit as he was fighting for extra yardage on that play. He left the field with trainers grabbing his back and was not targeted again during the game, so we’ll need to keep an eye on his practice reports in the middle of the week.

Turner has bounced between the Raiders’ practice squad and active roster since signing with the team as a UDFA in 2021. He was put into a slightly larger role this week with Davante Adams out. He was unable to bring in his only target but scored his first career touchdown on an end around in the third quarter. Turner could continue to see part-time usage if Adams remains out for Week 5.

The team placed DJ Turner on injured reserve in a corresponding move. Cole signed a one-year deal with the Raiders in the offseason but was released amid final roster cuts. Vegas added him to their practice squad shortly after. He will play a reserve role as a receiver while primarily pitching in on special teams.

Players are allowed to retain this year of eligibility thanks to a COVID-related NCAA ruling, which would mean a player like Turner (5'9/205) does not technically have to auto-declare for the draft. Turner does not want to see to hang around in college any longer, though, and will instead make his case as a pro. Turner is likely to be a UDFA, but his speed could be of interest to teams looking to add some juice on the back end of their depth chart. In 2020, Turner snagged 44 passes for 634 yards and three scores.

Turner’s 60-yard burner gave Pitt their first touchdown of the game and their first lead of more than three points. Though nothing fancy, Turner (5'9/205) showed off some ridiculous speed down the right sideline. He got some help from QB Kenny Pickett with a throw placed well in-stride and that was that. Turner was mostly quiet on his other receptions, but when you rip off one like that, you get some leeway for the rest of the game. That score was just Turner’s third of the season.