As Monday night approaches we know that Raiders QB Carson Palmer will drop back to pass a number of times.  What is less clear is who will be available to be the targets of those passes and how well they'll do.

The team came into training camp with receiver an overstocked position, but with questions as to the quality of the receiving corps.  The corps responded with some great practices – enough so that the team felt comfortable trading away WR Louis Murphy, a former 4th round pick and sometime starter at the position.

The team undoubtedly feels more comfortable at the receiver position than it has in years.  All 5 of the receivers that the team kept on the final squad have had their moments to shine:

DHB had a breakout year last year and continued his progression as a receiver with a good off season that showed him being able to make difficult downfield receptions, win 1-1 battles more consistently and use his hands to receive instead of his gut – all of these have been issues previously for the former top-10 pick but he was looking to continue his journey playing at the X WR position.

Second year standout Denarius Moore was last year's camp sensation and showed a good connection with Palmer when he joined the team mid season.  He hoped to make strides his second year at the flanker WR position.

In the wake of the signing of CB Joselio Hanson and the subsequent waiver of CB DeMarcus Van Dyke, there is a lot of speculation about the squad of defensive backs.  As was pointed out earlier today by someone on Twitter, the Raiders have turned over their cornerback squad completely with the waiving of DVD - no DB from last year's squad is on the team now.

The team is still high on DBs on the roster - currently on the roster are Ron Bartell, Shawntae Spencer, Pat Lee plus newcomers Phil Adams, Coye Francies and, now, Joselio Hanson.  They also Michael Huff who can play man against a WR as needed.

That likely means that the team is not done with this position.

The Raiders continued to address their secondary by signing cornerback Joselio Hanson to a contract, today.  Hanson had visited with the team yesterday.

The team is likely to use Hanson as a slot corner with him working as the third corner behind Ron Bartell & Shawntae Spencer.  Hanson used used as a slot corner in Philadelphia & was successful in that role.  His release was a bit of a surprise in the league.

Terms of the signing were not released.  Hanson is a vested veteran and did not have to go through the waivers system.  He was, therefore, able to sign with whichever team he chose as a free agent.

As a vested veteran, if he is on the squad at the start of the regular season, which starts next week, his contract for he year becomes fully guaranteed.

Per ProFootballTalk.com, the team has waived CB DeMarcus Van Dyke as the corresponding move.  If true, it means that both the highly touted CBs the team drafted a year ago have been waived this year.  DVD was a camp standout but stood out in games for all the wrong reasons. 

For more Raiders news & analysis throughout the day, follow me on Twitter @AsherMathews         

The Raiders have filled their practice squad as of tonight, the team announced.  The squad as is currently arranged is mostly old faces but a couple of new ones have been added, too.  The practice squad is used as a place to keep young players to help them develop and is also used as a scout team to mimic opponents styles so that the roster can practice and learn how to play against different techniques.


The 2012 practice squad is currently:

LB Kaelin Burnett

LB Nathan Stupar

WR Travionte Sessions

WR Brandon Carswell

CB Chimdi Chekwa

RB Jeremy Stewart

C Collin Miller

DT Vaughn Meatago


All of the players were in camp with the Raiders except Stewart and Meatago.

Stewart is a 6'1" 219 lb RB from Stanford.  He was signed with the Jets but was waived in the recent round of cuts.

Meatago is a smaller DT from Hawaii.  He is 6'1" 298 which means he would need to play the 3 technique instead of being a space-eating NT.  He could also play DE especially in a 3-4 scheme where the team will want the ends to be a little larger.

The practice squad is by no means set and I'd guess that one of the LBs and one of the WRs will eventually be replaced as it's unusual to have 2 of any position on the squad.

For more Raiders news and analysis, follow me on Twitter @AsherMathews                        

The Raiders announced their cuts tonight, moving the squad from 75 to 53 players per league guidelines.  The players waived or put onto IR were:

Waived LB Kaelin Burnett (R)
Waived K Eddy Carmona (R)
Waived WR Derek Carrier (R)
Waived WR Brandon Carswell (R)
Reserve/PUP (knees) LB Aaron Curry (4)
Waived DE Hall Davis (1)
Waived TE Kyle Efaw (R)
Waived DL Dominique Hamilton (R)
Waived OL Kevin Haslam (3)
Reserve/Injured (hamstring) TE Tory Humphrey (5)
Waived OL Nick Howell (1)
Waived LB Chad Kilgore (R)
Reserve/Injured (toe) P Marquette King (R)
Waived OL Dan Knapp (R)
Waived WR Eddie McGee (1)
Waived C Colin Miller (1)
Waived RB Lonyae Miller (1)
Terminated WR Roscoe Parrish (8)
Waived WR Travionte Session (R)
Waived LB Nathan Stupar (R)
Waived S Curtis Taylor (3)
Reserve/Injured (hip/groin) S Brandon Underwood (3)

With those cuts, the teams 53 players, as of now, are:

Offense
9 OL: Jared Veldheer, Cooper Carlisle, Stefen Wisniewski, Mike Brisiel, Khalif Barnes, Tony Bergstrom, Joseph Barksdale, Lucas Nix, Alex Parsons
3 QB: Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, Terrelle Pryor
3 RB: Darren McFadden, Taiwan Jones, Mike Goodson
2 FB: Marcel Reece, Owen Scmitt
5 WR: Darrius Heyward-Bey, Denarius Moore, Jacoby Ford, Juron Criner, Rod Streater
3 TE: Brandon Myers, Richard Gordon, Ausberry

Defense
5 DT: Richard Seymour, Tommy Kelly, Christo Bilukidi, Desmond Bryant, Jamie Cumbie
4 DE: Lamarr Houston, Matt Shaughnessy, David Tollefson, Jack Crawford
5 LB: Phillip Wheeler, Rolando McClain, Miles Burris, Travis Goethel, Carl Ihenacho,
7 CB: Ron Bartell, Shawntae Spencer, Pat Lee, DVD, Chimdi Chekwa, Bryan McCann, Coye Francies
4 S: Tyvon Branch, Michael Huff, Matt Giordano, Mike Mitchell

Special Teams
K: Sebastian Janikowski
P: Shane Lechler
LS: Jon Condo

Total: 53

The roster is far from complete, however.  Specifically, the team only having 5 LBs will be addressed.  The team is currently carring 7 CBs so at least one and quite probably two DBs will eventually get waived.  The OL is carrying 9 players right now which may be too many.  If Stefen Wisniewski comes back from a calf injury this week, Lucas Nix seems a likely candidate to be cut.  The team also would be interested in getting a sixth wide receiver if one becomes available that GM McKenzie likes.

The final game of the 2012 preseason is in the books for the Raiders, a sloppy, ugly loss to the Seattle Seahawks in which the Raiders gained a total of only 101 yards in the game.

So what does the loss mean for the 2012 season?  Fortunately, not much.  This game was never about winning but about seeing who would step up and make a last push for the game.

The Raiders depth was put to the test and was found wanting but the starters never really played in the game and therefore this game does not indicate how the team will do in the regular season.

S & B (Standouts & Breakdowns):

Standouts:
-Nathan Stupar - the rookie is very much a bubble player but he helped his cause with 11 tackles (6 solo) and 1 sack.  He looked very active playing 3rd team MLB.  He seems likely to be, at worst, a practice squad player and may have earned a spot onto the team with high motor play.

-Dominique Hamilton - his stat line doesn't tell the story as Hamilton only had two tackles in the game.  He showed good push and was able to collapse his side of the pocket several times to blow up run or pass plays.  He generated the push & collapsed the pocket on Stupar's sack.

-Christo Bilukidi - the raw but talented Bilukidi played most of the game, starting at DT because both Seymour and Kelly did not play and continuing to get reps.  He showed good presence in many of the plays and continues to flash the skills that Reggie McKenzie saw when he drafted the relatively unknown Bilukidi.

-Bryan McCann - the returner stood out by keeping a hold onto the ball (see below) and also provided a very solid punt return late in the game that set up the Raiders only score.  A bubble player before last night, he may have played his way into a final roster spot.


Breakdowns:
-Joseph Barksdale & Tony Bergstrom - the second & third team offensive lines were completly dominated in almost every snap by the Seahawks defensive line backups.  Both Barksdale and Bergstrom are expected to make the final roster but neither had a good night.

-Roscoe Parrish & Coye Francies - the two returners were signed after both being cut earlier in the week.  Both have a history of solid returns with Parrish especially being known for it.  Both struggled mightily when given their chances, however.  Parrish fumbled two punts, losing one.  Francies added a fumble of his own.  Neither looks likely to make the squad at this point.

Updated: Parrish has, indeed, been signed and is at the Raiders practice today.  He is wearing #18 as of now.  OL Zach Hurd has been designated as waived/injured to make room for him on the roster.

Per a profootballtalk.com article the Raiders have agreed to terms with recently released free agent returner/wide receiver Roscoe Parrish.

Parrish, 30, has been with the Bills his entire career, 7 years.  He joined the Chargers this off-season as a free agent but was cut when the team moved from 90 players down to 75.

Parrish is most known as a punt returner - an area in which the Raiders have struggled in recent years and through the 2012 preseason.  He has returned 135 punts in his career and has averaged 12 touchdowns per return as well as returning 3 of them for TDs.

He is less accomplished as a kickoff returner although he still has experience, there, having returned 29 kickoffs in his career and averaging 23.6 yards per return.  He has never returned a kickoff return for a TD.

The Raiders have struggled in both areas no matter who was returning the ball and it seems likely that if Parrish is healthy that he'll be able to make the team as a backup receiver and primary return man.

If he makes the final squad Parrish would be in line to be the team's 6th receiver.  In his career he has 134 receptions and has amassed 1,502 yards and 7 TDs.

The Raiders have not confirmed nor denied the move.  If reports of the signing are accurate, the Raiders will have had to drop a player to add Parrish as they were at the maximum roster size of 75 as of yesterday.  It is not known who was dropped to make room.