Getty Image / Jeffrey Brown
This NFL offseason, the Las Vegas Raiders have been busy at the tight end position despite entering the offseason with a former Pro Bowler.
They ended up trading that former Pro Bowler, Darren Waller, and brought in some interesting options to replace him.
They signed Austin Hooper, who was expected to become the starter after Waller was traded despite his disappointing last few seasons in Cleveland and Tennessee.
The Raiders also spent an early 2nd round pick on Michael Mayer in the hopes he would be their future at the position.
While those two moves got most of the attention, the Raiders added another notable tight end to their roster this offseason.
They signed former 1st round pick OJ Howard after his contract with the Texans expired.
Unfortunately for Howard, it looks like he’ll need to find another team before the start of the 2023 season.
According to the Las Vegas Review Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore, the Raiders released Howard today.
The @Raiders have released TE O.J. Howard.
— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) August 1, 2023
After being selected 19th overall in 2017, Howard was never able to live up to the hype.
Over 5 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Howard was never able to record more than 34 catches in a single season and he topped out at 565 yards in his second year in the league.
Last offseason, he hit free agency after making just 14 catches for 135 yards in his last season with the Bucs.
He ended up signing with the Bills, but that didn’t last for long. The Bills cut him at the end of August.
He was still able to find a team for the 2022 season, but was once again not all that impressive during his year with the Houston Texans.
Now OJ Howard will hit the open market again after being released by the Las Vegas Raiders.
He hasn’t given teams much reason to believe he will challenge for a starting job over the last few years, but he should still get interest from teams in need of depth at tight end.