The Facts: The Raiders took a late dip into free agency to sign Michael Crabtree and then they added Amari Cooper with the fourth overall pick of the draft, a pair of moves that appear to have convinced the team to move on from Jones, who told Fallon Smith of CSN Bay Area that GM Reggie McKenzie informed him that the Raiders were going to release him after one year with the team.
Diehards Line:That one year was the first year of a three-year deal and Jones caught 73 passes for 666 yards and six touchdowns during his season in Oakland. That paltry average yards per catch speaks to Jones’s difficulty creating separation from opposing defenses last season and the two new arrivals plus the expected return of Rod Streater didn’t promise much playing time in 2015. Jones was due to make $3.4 million in 2015 and his departure leaves no dead money on the cap. He’s the latest 2014 acquisition to leave the team after one season, joining Antonio Smith, Tarell Brown, Carlos Rogers, Maurice Jones-Drew, Matt Schaub and LaMarr Woodley as short-term members of the organization.