NFL Rumors: Raiders, Patriots Interested in Jaguars’ DJ Chark Jr.

The Las Vegas Raiders and New England Patriots are expected to be among the teams interested in free-agent wide receiver DJ Chark Jr.

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported Chark is expected to receive interest from multiple teams despite missing 13 games with an ankle injury in 2021.

Chark spent his first four NFL seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He set career highs with 73 catches for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns in 2019 before struggling to replicate those numbers in 2020 and suffering a broken ankle last season.

The Raiders and Patriots likely view the 25-year-old as a potential reclamation project. Chark looked the part as a potential deep threat and red-zone target during his Pro Bowl 2019 campaign, but the Jaguars were the worst team in football the following season and he never seemed to develop chemistry with Trevor Lawrence in 2021. Lawrence and Chark only connected on seven of 22 targets before he was injured.

The Patriots attempted to shore up their receiving corps last offseason by signing Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor, but Bourne is best served as a third option and Agholor disappointed. A trio of Bourne, Chark and Jakobi Meyers would be a solid, albeit not spectacular, trio for Mac Jones in his second NFL season.

The Raiders are lacking a deep threat in their offense after releasing Henry Ruggs III in the wake of his arrest on felony charges of DUI resulting in death related to a November 2021 car crash. 

Chark could be seen as a cost-effective option as the Raiders assess their roster under the new regime of general manager Dave Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels.