Raiders Place WR Martavis Bryant, S Reggie Nelson & DE Shilique Calhoun On IR

The Oakland Raiders announced Wednesday that they’ve placed WR Martavis Bryant and DE Shilique Calhoun on injured reserve.

Michael Gehlken adds that the Raiders have also placed S Reggie Nelson on injured reserve.

This creates roster spots for DE Kony Ealy and RB C.J. Anderson, who were both signed to contracts.

Bryant, 26, was selected by the Steelers in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL draft. He’s entering the final year of his four-year, $2.7 million rookie contract and stands to make a base salary of $705,000 for the 2018 season.

Bryant was suspended for the entire 2016 season for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy and returned to the team coming out of the preseason last year.

The Steelers traded Bryant to the Raiders in return for the No. 79 overall pick of the third round this offseason. The Raiders released him coming out of the preseason only to re-sign him a few weeks into the regular season.

In 2018, Bryant appeared in eight games for the Raiders and caught 19 passes for 266 yards receiving to go along with 23 rushing yards.

Calhoun, 26, is a former third-round pick of the Raiders back in 2016. He was in the second year of his four-year, $3.29 million contract and set to make a base salary of $565,000 when the Raiders cut him loose coming out of the preseason last year.

Oakland later signed him to their practice squad and eventually promoted him to their active roster midseason. The Raiders re-signed Calhoun to exclusive rights deal this offseason, but he’s been on and off of their roster this year. 

In 2018, Calhoun appeared in seven games for the Raiders and recorded 12 tackles and no sacks.

Nelson, 35, is a former first-round pick of the Jaguars back in 2007. He spent three years in Jacksonville before he was traded to the Bengals in return for David Jones and a conditional draft pick.

Nelson played out his contract before signing a two-year contract with the Raiders back in 2016 worth up to $12 million. Oakland brought Nelson back on a one-year contract this past March. 

In 2018, Nelson appeared in 11 games for the Raiders and recorded 29 tackles, two interceptions and two pass defenses.