The Raiders essentially benched both of their rookie wide receivers on Sunday, and the decision is raising questions about what the coaching staff thinks about Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton Jr.
Thornton was a healthy scratch from Sunday’s game, while Jack Bech was available but didn’t get into the game.
Head coach Pete Carroll was asked about the sudden shift in playing time for Bech and Thornton, and it sounds like this week’s decision might have been an isolated incident.
“I wanted to see what Tyler [Lockett] would do. I wanted to get him on the field, see what would happen, and it’s his spot,” Carroll told members of the media on Monday. “So because of special teams or not enough contributions, he had to go down on this one. That’s just one week. We’ll see what happens next week.”
For Thornton, it’s already been a rookie season full of ups and downs.
The fourth-round wide receiver was the talk of training camp and earned a full-time role in Chip Kelly’s offense for the first five weeks of the season.
But in week 6 against the Titans, Thornton was only on the field for two plays. The following week, he was on the field for 30 offensive snaps against the Chiefs and after the bye week he was benched.
It will be interested to see how the Raiders coaching staff approaches the development of Thornton and Bech going forward because with a 2-6 record, the 2025 season is already becoming more about the 2026 season.
Raiders GM John Spytek hasn’t spoken on the roster in a while, but it’s safe to assume he will want his second and fourth-round picks on the field as much as possible in the second half of the season as he assesses the roster ahead of what could turn into a complicated offseason.
x: @raidersbeat
The reason plain and simple is the Raiders front office chose the wrong HC. Ben Johnson would’ve had a massive upgrade on this team and the roster. Look what he did as soon as he got to Chicago, he upgraded the OL. He’s moving their offense into the modern age. Now I didn’t agree with D.Allen as a DC as R.Salah was the best out there, but either is better than P.Graham. Also Chip Kelly wouldn’t be the OC. The game passed Pete by years ago. Seattle waited a couple years too late but they’re riding pretty high right now in the 2nd yr of their HC Mike M. The entire off-season and now season has been a disaster because Mark had to have Tom “in the fold”. Way to go Mark you’ve brought in the WRONG guy again, just like McDaniels and just like Gruden. SELL THE TEAM (NOT TO TOM)!!! WE DESERVE BETTER!!
Johnson didn’t want the job. His reported Interest in the Raiders job was all a smoke screen. He wanted the Bears job. That was the job he waited.
As for the Raiders the one guy that wanted the job Pierce was fired. Carroll was the only guy willing to take the Job.