Raiders Donte Thornton running out of time as roster deadline looms

Time is running out on Dont’e Thornton.And with each passing week, it becomes harder to point to his health as the reason the Raiders wide receiver remains on injured reserve.By Thornton’s assessment, he is healthy.Raiders coach Klint Kubiak has said the same.“Yeah, he’s healthy,” Kubiak said Friday.There is also an obvious need at his position, where the Raiders are short on available bodies and need someone beyond Tre Tucker to emerge as a dependable contributor.Healthy player.

Clear need.Significant opportunity.Yet Thornton remains on the outside looking in.“He will not be activated for this game,” Kubiak said Friday.That means Thornton will not be on the field in Sunday’s game against the Rams, extending his season-long absence and leaving him little time to convince the Raiders he belongs on the field.“He’s making big progress,” Kubiak said.

“He’s done a lot of good things in practice.Still working back into getting his football legs back after missing a lot of time.

But I’ve been really pleased with his effort, with his detail.He’s close.”Just not close enough to be activated yet, which seems significant given the Raiders obvious needs in the wide receiver room, and the door they opened for Thornton to show he can contribute.Now, a deadline is looming, and there is a very real possibility that Thornton’s season will end before it ever actually started.The Raiders opened Thornton’s practice window Oct.

7, beginning the 21-day period in which they could evaluate him before deciding whether to activate him.That window closes Oct.

28.If Thornton is not activated by then, he will remain on injured reserve for the rest of the season.For a player drafted on potential, the possibility of losing an entire year of development is particularly troubling.The Raiders selected Thornton in the fourth round of the 2025 draft out of Tennessee.The attraction was obvious.At 6-foot-5, with a 4.30-second 40-yard dash, Thornton possessed an ...