Son of iconic Hall of Fame wide receiver brutally axed by Tom Brady’s Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders are continuing to remake their wide-receiver room.

Wide receiver Tre Tucker, and tight-end Brock Bowers led the team in receiving yards in 2025, but both did not surpass 700 yards.

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This was a key factor in the Raiders’ 3-14 season, which ultimately landed them Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick, after the Geno Smith experiment failed.

Las Vegas have spent heavily in upgrading their roster in preparation for Mendoza’s arrival, including the signing of veteran receiver Jailen Nailor, who will mentor the former Hoosiers quarterback.

But while they have made additions, they have also made subtractions and they made the decision to cut the son of Hall-of-Fame Receiver Jerry Rice.

The Raiders announced that they had signed linebacker Cameron McGrone, and in the corresponding move, they had waived Brenden Rice.

Brenden was a productive wide receiver at USC, and joined the team at the end of last season. But, his last name was not enough to keep his Raiders roster spot.

In his final season at USC in 2023, Rice posted 791 yards and 12 touchdowns, and he was selected in the seventh round by the Los Angeles Chargers.

Rice would appear in just three games for the Chargers in 24’ and was not targeted once before he was let go.

Even if the son of the San Francisco 49ers legend stuck around, it is unlikely that he would have been an impact player this season.

His release doesn’t change much in Vegas, despite the addition of Nailor, ESPN NFL analyst Aaron Schatz still believes it’s their greatest need.

The Raiders have wide receivers, but no one is established as a No. 1 option,” Schatz wrote. 

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“(Yes, their No. 1 receiver is tight end Brock Bowers, but it is still good to have somebody drawing attention outside.) Tre Tucker is going into his fourth season and had 57 catches for 696 yards and five touchdowns last season, but he also had a score of just 29 out of 100 in the ESPN receiver scores. 

‘Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton Jr. underwhelmed in their rookie seasons. Dareke Young had just four receptions in four seasons with Seattle before signing with Las Vegas this offseason, and rookie Malik Benson is a sixth-round pick.”

Las Vegas addressed a lot of needs through free agency and via the draft, but it was always going to be difficult to fill every hole in a rebuilding team.

Former Raiders offensive lineman Lincoln Kennedy believes Las Vegas will have to wait until next year to find their No.1 option at the position.

“When we looked at the offseason with the acquisitions, and we saw what the Raiders did, in the back of my mind I said, ‘You know what? They’re probably not going to address this receiver position in the draft,’” Kennedy Said in the Locked on Raiders Squad Show podcast.

“It will probably be next year. And for as many people talk about Denzel Boston and all these other receivers, I saw where teams like Cleveland went.

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“I just didn’t have those guys designated as a true X.”

With Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith and Alabama’s Ryan Williams projected as the crown jewels of the 2027 draft class, the Raiders are undoubtedly salivating at the chance to pair their new franchise quarterback with a truly elite, vertical weapon.

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