The future of Oakland Raiders wide receiver Michael Crabtree remains unclear. There’s continued speculation Crabtree may have played his last game for the Raiders following a year which reportedly did not go smoothly on and off the field for him in Oakland.

However, Jon Gruden’s recent comment about Crabtree in an interview with the Mercury News’ Jerry McDonald suggests that he still hasn't completely closed the door on the possibility that the veteran wideout has a part to play on the Raiders for this upcoming season and beyond.

“I got to bump into Crabtree. Hopefully we can get the best out of Crabtree and his career.”

Much like the rest of the Raiders, Crabtree had a somewhat disappointing 2017 season as he caught 58 balls for 618 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Despite missing two games, he still wasn’t going to come close to the 87 catches and 962 yards he averaged in his first two seasons in Oakland.

When he’s at his best, though, Crabtree can still be a highly productive receiver. The combination of him and Amari Cooper is as good a one-two punch at wide receiver as there is in the entire league.

Perhaps the coaching change with Gruden coming on board will be enough to smooth things over with Crabtree and whatever his issues were last season. If so, he could then look to bounce back following a down year in 2017. But if not, the Raiders will be hard-pressed to find another receiver who can help revive their once-potent passing attack.