Raiders release WR Demarcus Robinson and DT Vernon Butler

The Raiders must get their roster down to 85 players before the end of the day and they started releasing a few players earlier on Tuesday.

The initial cutdown included two notable veterans: Vernon Butler and Demarcus Robinson. That news was first reported by Field Yates of ESPN. Both of which were somewhat surprising at this current time.

Robinson was expected to compete for the No. 3 wide receiver job behind Davante Adams and Hunter Renfrow. But with the emergence of Mack Hollins and Keelan Cole, there just wasn’t a spot on the roster for Robinson. There is also a chance that someone like Tyron Johnson or D.J. Turner could make the roster and it’s clear the Raiders want to get younger at that position.

Butler was one of the several defensive tackles the Raiders signed this offseason. But he failed to make any kind of impact in training camp. The Raiders are counting on players such as Andrew Billings, Kyle Peko and Neil Ferrell Jr. to fill their run-stopping defensive tackle spot this season behind Johnathan Hankins.

Story originally appeared on Raiders Wire