Raiders place Dont’e Thornton Jr. on reserved/injured list

The Raiders activated Thornton’s 21-day practice window this week. Despite the young wide receiver saying he feels “ready to play,” the team has determined that he needs more time. With Jalen Nailor (concussion) also ruled out, Cody White (ankle) and Malik Benson will round out three-wide receiver sets behind Tre Tucker.

Thornton has been on injured reserve since late August, practicing in full for the first time on Wednesday. He told Raiders media that he is “overly confident” in his hamstring and is “ready to play.” With Jack Bech on injured reserve, there is room for the 23-year-old speedster to earn targets if he plays in Week 5.

The lanky speedster was placed on injured reserve late in August. He is not exceptionally talented, but he can contribute meaningfully to an NFL offense. Getting him back would help keep safeties honest. Stay tuned.

We still don’t know what Thornton is dealing with, but the second-year receiver hasn’t practiced since August 7th. Kubiak said earlier this month that he expected Thornton to return sometime during the preseason, but that didn’t come to fruition. Even if he’s able to make it back on the practice field ahead of Week 1, Thornton is unlikely to make any major contributions to the offense at this time.

Thornton has missed nearly a whole week of practice, paving the way for Jack Bech and rookie Malik Benson to see more reps. Kubiak said Thornton has “been banged up a little bit” this training camp, but did not go into further detail on his situation. Thornton caught 10 passes for 135 scoreless yards last season after generating plenty of camp hype. He is not on the fantasy radar at this time.

Thornton was at practice in street clothes Tuesday, missing his fourth straight. He left a training camp practice early last week and has not received a diagnosis or return timetable. Jack Bech, Jalen Nailor, and Tre Tucker are listed as the Raiders’ starting wide receivers on the team’s first unofficial depth chart of the preseason. Thornton is listed as Nailor’s backup but may be losing ground to Malik Benson as he misses time.

The depth chart placement is a tad curious because it suggests Benson ran ahead of either WR Tre Tucker or WR Jack Bech. Benson has been rotating in with the first-team offense for more than a week, so this isn’t groundbreaking news, but one wonders if he can use the opportunity to make a compelling case for a starting role in three-wide receiver sets.

The Raiders are reportedly rotating five different wide receivers through team drills, including Tre Tucker, Jack Bech, Jalen Nailor and Dont’e Thornton. Tucker is the most proven player of the bunch and should be expected to secure a starting role. Things are fluid beyond that. McFadden named Benson, a sixth-round rookie, his “biggest surprise” of spring practices. He reportedly fostered a strong connection with QB Fernando Mendoza. Given his draft capital, Benson is likely a long shot to earn a starting role, but he also possesses intriguing upside as a field stretcher. Don’t bank on a breakout, but keeping an eye on him this summer is worthwhile.

Smart move. The Raiders are widely expected to take Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick and currently field an extremely thin wide receiver corps. The Raiders’ second draft pick is No. 36 overall, which could be used to draft a No. 1 wide receiver. Given Bonsignore’s “deep” comment, we expect them to take multiple players at the position. The team recently hosted Texas A&M WR KC Concepcion, who is currently viewed as a candidate to be drafted late in the first round or early in the second. Tre Tucker, 25, is the Raiders’ most proven wide receiver, though he caught just 57-of-90 targets for 696 yards and five touchdowns last year. Other penciled-in starters include WR Jack Bech, WR Dont’e Thornton and WR Jalen Nailor. All three failed to earn 50 or more targets last year.

Nor is Dont’e Thornton (concussion), as the Raiders get back some supporting cast members against the Eagles. Neither player is fantasy-interesting at this time, though Mayer has flirted with it at points of this season. The passing offense is simply too limited to get this far down the depth chart at this time.