One of the best stories of Raiders training camp this year has been DJ Turner. The former undrafted receiver and return specialist spent last season the Raiders’ practice squad and entered this year looking up at several new additions at his position. And he defied the odds to break though to the regular season roster.
Turner broke through in large part by thriving in two areas the Raiders had a need — slot receiver and return man.
Obviously the team has one of the best slot receivers in the league in Hunter Renfrow. But they needed depth behind him. In addition, it would be nice to not have Renfrow returning punts anymore. Turner came in and solved both problems and in so doing, watched as other former starting receivers Demarcus Robinson and Keelan Cole were cut instead of him.
It wasn’t exactly a sure thing, however. Right up to the minute the cuts came down on Tuesday, Turner was uneasy about his chances of making the team.
“I just kind of tried to stay off my phone. I made sure it wasn’t on silent, just in case it does ring I’d be there to pick it up,” said Turner of the day leading up to the cuts. “But I just tried to occupy myself with anything else to be honest and tried to keep my mind off of it. Like I had my kids at home, just trying to play with them until I had to come to the facility.”
“I came into building to do a walk thru and to do a lift, and I was just nervously walking around,” Turner added. “You never know if somebody’s going to call you, grab you at any point.”
One problem for those who make the roster is it’s a ‘no news is good news’ situation. You stay by the phone hoping it doesn’t ring.
“That’s the thing. It’s not like somebody calls you like, ‘Hey, congratulations’,” said Turner. “Nobody calls you and that’s kind of your sign that you’re good. Even after one o’clock, it wasn’t an official thing that came out.”
Turner knew he had at least put himself in great position to have reason to be excited about the possibility he made the roster.
The preseason game against the Vikings in particular, Turner led the team with 58 yards on three catches one of which went for a 34-yard touchdown. He added a 26-yard punt return.
“Special teams is as important, if not more important, than any other phase of the game,” Turner said of what he feels ultimately earned him his roster spot. “Especially in this level, you’ve got to be able to do everything. So I spent some time back there returning, but I also tried to hone in on being a gunner, being a guy on kickoff. . . I feel like versatility in all four phases of special teams is big for everybody, not just myself.”
Even with the impression he was clearly making, it was no guarantee he wasn’t going to be a victim of a numbers game at his position. Until it was official, he wasn’t counting on it happening. But once that clock hit 1pm, he finally knew it. It was real. He could finally celebrate breaking through that barrier.
“Just between leaving here and getting home – that ride – I kind of just took to myself,” Turner recalled. “I had some family members calling. I was trying not to answer every phone call just so I could actually take that time and just reflect on this past year and even my college years and high school as well because it’s been a long journey. But that was a great moment for me, for myself and then it all came together once I got home with my family and they kind of welcomed me in and we all celebrated. It was a great feeling.”
Turner knows making the team is just a milestone in a longer journey. The first-year man now embarks on the task of keeping his job and making it into a career. It will be fun to see if he can take this opportunity and run with it.