Raiders have released former Saints’ and Ravens’ WR Willie Snead, who “wasn’t playing much and asked for the release,” per his agent @DrewJRosenhaus. “There will be a market for him.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 26, 2021
Hey, why not? It’s not like any of the wide receivers the New Orleans Saints currently have under contract are doing much better. Marquez Callaway has been the best of the group and he only ranks 75th in the NFL in receiving yards this season.
But back to Willie Snead. The former Saints wide receiver signed with the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason, who ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports granted his release after he was buried on their depth chart. Snead spent three years with the Baltimore Ravens in between his stop in the desert and his career-starting years in New Orleans, but he still hasn’t matched the success he found in his first two years in the NFL.
Snead was an instant sensation in 2015, reeling in 68 receptions (on 101 targets) for 984 receiving yards, primarily from out wide. The next year he caught 72 passes (104 targets) for 895 yards, this time after moving to the slot. But a suspension and injury derailed his 2017 season and the Saints let him walk in free agency a year later.
Now he’s probably just a bottom-of-the-depth chart player like Kenny Stills or Kevin White or Lil’Jordan Humphrey or any of the other receivers who haven’t done much yet. Snead isn’t going to magically correct everything or start rattling off 100-yard games in New Orleans, but the Saints should keep throwing things at the wall until something sticks. They’ve got nothing to lose by trying.
Maybe they’ll figure out they need to commit more resources to solving the problem. But it feels like that realization won’t dawn on them until the Nov. 2 trade deadline has already passed.
