Raiders Contract Year Players: Keelan Cole

Keelan Cole can prove himself as an important depth receiver with the Las Vegas Raiders this season.

The Las Vegas Raiders made several acquisitions through free agency and the 2023 NFL Draft involving the wide receiver position.

They added five new wide receivers to a fairly strong position group in Las Vegas. With Davante Adams and Hunter Renfrow spearheading that group, the team added good depth around them in players like Jakobi Meyers and rookie Tre Tucker.

One player who was already on the team was Keelan Cole, who finished his sixth season in the NFL and first with the Raiders. After the 2023 season, he will be eligible for free agency.

A few of the receivers the Raiders signed in free agency were on one-year deals so that Cole will be grouped in with those players, and General Manager Dave Ziegler will have to decide who he wants to bring back for 2024.

Let’s look at Cole’s season with the Raiders and see what he needs to do to return to the Silver and Black after 2023.

Cole joined the Raiders in the 2022 offseason, initially not making the 53-man roster but quickly signing back to the practice squad. He would eventually join the active roster and remain there for the season. Cole was active for every game except the one against the Houston Texans.

Cole caught only 10 passes last season for 141 yards and a touchdown. His most impactful performance of the season came in the Raiders’ win over the New England Patriots when he caught two passes for 50 yards, one of those passes going for a 30-yard touchdown with 32 seconds left to tie the game.

Cole has caught 197 passes for 2,832 yards and 14 touchdowns in his career. He has been a solid depth receiver throughout his career, and the Raiders re-signed him this offseason to have more depth at the position.

Cole probably will have to be more productive in 2023 than he was in 2022 if he wants to return to the Raiders beyond this season, but he might face an uphill battle with all the new faces in the position.

The Raiders' offseason workout schedule is as follows:

OTA Offseason workouts: May 22-23, May 25, May 31-June 2, June 12-15

Mandatory Minicamp: June 6-8

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