Jordy Nelson expected back with Raiders

Wide receiver Jordy Nelson is expected back with the Oakland Raiders next season.

Nelson was among three Oakland players to receive 2019 roster bonuses, according to a report by ESPN. Such a move is an indication that the team plans on retaining the player, Raiders coach Jon Gruden said.

"Normally when you hand out a bonus for next year's season, there's a pretty good chance those guys are coming back," Gruden said, per the San Francisco Chronicle.

The 33-year-old Nelson, who signed a two-year deal with Oakland worth $14.2 million following his release by the Green Bay Packers in the offseason, received a bonus of $3.6 million.

Plagued by injuries during the middle portion of the season, Nelson hardly looked like a candidate to be back in Oakland following a five-game stretch in which he had a combined five receptions for 36 yards.

However, in four December games, Nelson has come alive with 29 catches for 308 yards, although he has not reached the end zone since Week 5. For the season, he has 54 catches for 661 yards and three scores.

"If you watch Jordy play carefully the last four weeks when he's been healthy, you see what he's capable of doing," Gruden said. "And I think as we continue to improve this football team around some of the core guys that are here, I think you can even see better and better days ahead. So yeah, he'll be back."

Nelson spent his first nine years with Green Bay since the team selected him in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He had four 1,000-yard seasons in five years, setting a franchise record with 1,519 receiving yards while posting a career-best 98 receptions in 2014.

After missing the 2015 season because of a knee injury, Nelson had a big 2016 campaign for the Packers with 97 receptions, 1,257 yards and a league-leading 14 touchdown catches. Nelson's numbers declined significantly in 2017, when he had 53 catches for 482 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games.