Former Cardinals WR J.J. Nelson signs with Oakland Raiders
Mar 15, 2019, 11:43 AM
Arizona Cardinals' J.J. Nelson (14) runs during the second half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Count wide receiver J.J. Nelson as the latest member of last year’s Arizona Cardinals to exit via free agency.
The Oakland Raiders announced Friday they had signed Nelson, who played 14 games for the Cardinals last season.
Nelson, 26, played each of his first four NFL seasons in Arizona after the Cardinals drafted him in the fifth round (159th overall) in 2015. Nelson is a product of the University of Alabama-Birmingham and has since played 56 NFL games (15 starts) in Cardinal red from 2015 to 2018. He now joins the Raiders, who will play their final season in Oakland this year before moving to Las Vegas.
Nelson’s 64 yards from scrimmage last year were a career-low for him after he had 299, 568 and 508 in his first three seasons, respectively. He was targeted just 19 times — also a career low — of which he made seven catches to account for all 64 of his yards and no touchdowns. His career high in yards from scrimmage was 651, set in 2016 when he had 568 yards in the air and 83 more on the ground for six touchdowns.
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He joins Deone Bucannon, Markus Golden, Mike Iupati and Antoine Bethea as members of the 2018 Cardinals to have signed deals with new teams this offseason.
Meanwhile, the Raiders add another receiver after already acquiring Antonio Brown and Tyrell Williams in the past week.
