Yeah, not good, Steelers.
Raiders Cut Ties With 2 Players, Sign WR & OL Following Chiefs Loss
Posted October 21, 2025
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Las Vegas Raiders WR DJ Turner.
What the Las Vegas Raiders are doing isn’t working. The team is 2-5 and just lost 31-0 to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7.
That score doesn’t even tell the whole story. The Raiders accumulated less than 100 yards on offense and likely would’ve lost by a lot more if the Chiefs hadn’t decided to take their foot off the gas.
Luckily, Las Vegas is entering the bye week, which gives them some time to retool. The Raiders are already making some roster moves. The team announced on Tuesday that they’ve signed offensive guard Layden Robinson and wide receiver DJ Turner to the practice squad.
We have signed G Layden Robinson and WR DJ Turner to the practice squad.
In a corresponding move, we have released G McClendon Curtis and S JT Woods from the practice squad.
To make room for the two new players, the Raiders had to cut offensive guard McClendon Curtis and safety JT Woods. Curtis just reunited with the team recently, but he may not have had enough time to make an impression. He originally came to the Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2023. While there was some hope that he could turn into a dependable offensive lineman, he’s had a hard time sticking with a team.
Woods was with the team in the offseason, but hasn’t been able to get on the field this season. The former Los Angeles Charger will now be a free agent.
Background on Turner & Robinson
Robinson was recently released by the New England Patriots after starting the season on the Injured Reserve. It was just a year ago that he was a fourth-round pick of the team. He started 11 games for the Patriots last season, but clearly, they didn’t think he still had upside.
That said, he’s still a young player who has some good experience. The Raiders’ offensive line continues to play poorly, so he could have a chance to work his way up to an active roster spot.
Turner is a player who has been on and off the Raiders’ roster since 2021. He didn’t make the team this year, but now he’s getting another chance. He’s a strong special teams contributor.
Raiders Still Finding Identity
This is rare air for head coach Pete Carroll. He’s been very successful turning teams around in his career, but the Raiders are proving to be a bigger challenge than he expected.
Carroll was asked about the Raiders’ identity, and he wants to see the team be more balanced going forward.
“Last week I liked the balance that we showed and the playing off of one another,” Carroll told reporters Monday. “I thought that was really clear, and we went into this game knowing that we would at least have to do that to play a good, effective game. And special teams, we didn’t give the ball up on offense, those were factors that if you do that, you’re going to get beat by these guys. And so, it’s there for us, and honestly, I just hope we get our guys back so that we can utilize those guys to make our offense whole. And without Maxx, the defense was different too. That’s just the way I see it. I can’t deny saying that.”
Former Steelers QB slams regrettable George Pickens trade
The Pittsburgh Steelers lack a quality No. 2 receiver, so it's easy to see why a former QB slammed the regrettable George Pickens trade.
The good news is the Pittsburgh Steelers don't need to sign George Pickens, since they traded him to the Cowboys. That's a move that made Dak Prescott happy. However, a former Steelers quarterback slammed his team for the regrettable trade of the star receiver.
Think about it. The Steelers could have been rolling along this season with D.K. Metcalf and Pickens. Instead, they have Metcalf, but nobody to support him on the other side.
So it’s easy to see why Charlie Batch is up in arms, according to a post on YouTube by the Up & Adams Show.
“They paired George Pickens up with arguably the worst coordinator [Matt Canada] in the history of the NFL,” Batch said. “And I’m not throwing shade. The numbers are what they are. So [Pickens] lost more games in Pittsburgh than he ever lost in his career. And he had a bad rap, and he didn’t know how to lose. And I’m okay with that.
“… Now you’re seeing him showcase in an offense that are now throwing the football around on what his skills are. Ultimately, he’s going to get a huge contract, whether that’s in Dallas or somewhere else, because this guy can flat-out play.”
Are Steelers missing WR George Pickens?
They do have a useless third-round pick, as far as this season goes. And they have a quarterback in Aaron Rodgers who’s already well past his prime. He will be another year older for whoever the Steelers bring in at the wide receiver position in 2026 — if he doesn’t retire.
The Steelers bungled the decision to trade Pickens. Some of it had to do with him clashing with Mike Tomlin. But here’s the reality, according to ESPN.
“Pickens is the sixth receiver in the Mike Tomlin era to be drafted by Pittsburgh and eventually traded to another team,” Brooke Pryor wrote. “Five of those players — Pickens, Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, Martavis Bryant, and Brown — were dealt in part because of concerns involving their conduct. But Pickens had other issues than money.
“I think every team seems to have one or two guys in that room that you have to manage them correctly,” Steelers owner Art Rooney II said in January. “I still think George has enough talent that we've got to try to work and see if we can get him to fulfill the talent that he really has. Who knows if we can get there? We'll see. But when you have guys that are as talented as some of the guys you're probably thinking of, you try to work with them and have them help you be successful.”
But the Steelers didn’t wait. And so far, there have been zero problems in Dallas. So maybe the issue was Tomlin, not Pickens?
“I can't really change anyone's opinion,” Pickens said of outside perceptions during his introductory news conference call in Dallas. “Me, personally, I just continue to grow. I feel like everybody in the world has to grow. You get older and older as you grow, and I'm just trying to build a winning culture, which they already have at the Cowboys. I'm just glad to be joining it.”
All of those numbers where the Steelers trade a guy and he flops elsewhere are already out the window with Pickens. He’s on pace for 1,475 yards and 15 touchdowns. The touchdown total would be triple his previous career high with the Steelers. And his yardage total would beat his career high by 335 yards.
