Report suggest Raiders have competition in receiver market

Any time a wide receiver has popped up on the market this offseason, the Las Vegas Raiders have been linked to them in one way or another.

Despite drafting three receivers in April, it makes sense for the Raiders to add veteran options to take the pressure off of them. Veteran free agents such as Amari Cooper and Keenan Allen have been linked to the team before. The Raiders have also been immediately connected to the likes of Terry McLaurin and Jauan Jennings if their respective teams decide to make a trade.

However, a new development suggests the Raiders could get some serious competition for some of the top names on the market.

A division rival now has a good reason to to pull one over on the Raiders.

On Thursday, according to multiple reports, the agent of wide receiver Mike Williams has informed the Los Angeles Chargers that he intends to retire.

Williams signed with the Chargers on a one-year deal in March, returning to the team that drafted him seventh overall in 2017. With the Chargers, Williams established himself as one of the premier deep threats and jump-ball specialists in the NFL. However, injuries have slowed him down in recent years, and Williams’s retirement comes after he started training camp with the Chargers on the physically unable to perform list.

From a Raiders point of view, however, Williams’s departure could create some problems in their search for a receiving upgrade.

Similar to the Raiders and Jack Bech, the Chargers were also dealing with contract issues with their second-round pick in wide receiver Tre Harris. Although the Chargers did sign him on Thursday, the room is still thin behind the top three of Harris, Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston. That gives the Chargers plenty of motivation to secure a new receiving option, potentially swooping in to grab one that the Raiders would want for themselves.

If the Raiders wish to upgrade their receiver room, there is now one more opponent they will have to fend off.