Raiders Re-Sign Wide Receiver De’Mornay Pierson-El
Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The Las Vegas Raiders have opted to bring back a familiar face, announcing that they have re-signed free-agent wide receiver De’Mornay Pierson-El.

Pierson-El came into the league as an undrafted free agent out of Nebraska. He enjoyed a brief stint with the Washington Redskins until he waived and subsequently made stops in the CFL with the Montreal Alouettes and the AAF with the Salt Lake Stallions.

Pierson-El made his return to the NFL by signing with the Raiders last offseason. He was ultimately waived and re-signed to the practice squad for the 2019 campaign. His most recent action came with the XFL as a member of the St. Louis BattleHawks in which he hauled in 23-of-26 targets for 209 yards and two touchdowns.

General manager Mike Mayock acknowledged that the Raiders had some major issues to fill in their receiving corps. After addressing some of the other notable voids on the roster through free agency, Mayock and head coach Jon Gruden were finally able to shore up some firepower through the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Raiders used the 12th overall pick to make a splash by taking Alabama wide receiver Henry Ruggs III. They then followed it up by using their back-to-back picks in the third round to shore up some potential, quality depth in wide receivers Lynn Bowden Jr. and Bryan Edwards. Mayock revealed that Bowden will primarily be used as a running back, although he was a receiver in college so likely will be doing damage through the air as well.

What was once an area of weakness for Las Vegas appears to on the verge of a significant turnaround in the 2020 NFL season. Pierson-El is now hoping that the second time is the charm to help him secure a more permanent home.

It is safe to say that Gruden and Mayock already have an idea of how the pecking order will be determined in the passing game for quarterback Derek Carr. Pierson-El will certainly have his work cut out trying to make the roster as part of this revamped receiving corps.