Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Feb. 28, 2014

The Raiders announced on Friday that they have re-signed offensive lineman Khalif Barnes.

Barnes has already played five years for the Silver & Black while appearing in 63 games with 46 starts in all. With much of the offensive line banged up last season, Barnes filled in by moving from his right-tackle position to start 11 games at left tackle and five at left guard. He started all nine games at right tackle in 2012 and all 16 there in 2011.

“I’m so excited to be back,” Barnes said in the press release. “I’m going on my sixth year here, and we’ve had some ups and downs but there are some unfinished things we have to do here. I want to be a part of the process that turns this thing around. I believe in Dennis [Allen] and I believe in Reggie [McKenzie]. I am just excited I get the chance to come back and help this team win.”

Originally a second-round draft pick (52nd overall) for the Jacksonville Jaguars, the 6-foot-7, 321-pound offensive lineman has 103 career starts in nine NFL seasons.

With free agency set to begin March 11, Raider Nation continues to await for news on a contract extension for starting left tackle Jared Veldheer.

Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Feb. 24, 2014

Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie announced Monday that the team has signed Taiwan Jones to a three-year contract extension.

Jones, who still had one year remaining on his rookie contract, is not extended through the 2017 NFL season.

Originally from Deer Valley High School in nearby Antioch, Calif., Jones is happy to receive the opportunity to extend his time in the Bay Area.

“I was excited when they came to me about the extension," Jones said in the press release. "It is definitely a blessing for a local kid to be part of the Raiders’ turnaround. I’ve been an underdog all my life, so I think it’s very fitting for me to remain here. I’m definitely excited about it.

“It’s a blessing. It’s rare to see and to know that my local team wants me to stay home, and it’s just a blessing. I’m glad to be part of it, happy to remain here and there are big things coming that I am happy to be part of it. I feel good about next year. Obviously, I was able to do a lot of good things on special teams last year. Unfortunately, I didn’t make the Pro Bowl last year, but that is something I’m shooting for this year.”

Jones was originally drafted in the fourth round (125th overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft as a running back but was asked to convert to cornerback last season. He originally was recruited as a cornerback before being converted to running back with Eastern Washington University, where he finished his career as the school’s fourth-leading rusher with 2,995 rushing yards on 383 carries and 29 touchdowns.

While receiving little playing time at running back and cornerback, Jones has made a niche with his special teams play, quickly becoming a strong special teams asset to the team.

The 25-year-old has totaled 117 rushing yards (4.3 avg.), 91 receiving yards on six receptions (15.2 avg.), 810 kickoff return yards on 36 returns (22.5 avg.), 32 special teams tackles and two fumble recoveries.

Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Feb. 20, 2014

The Oakland Raiders are reportedly scheduled to meet with running back Darren McFadden's camp on Saturday, according to NFL.com senior analyst Gil Brandt.

Darren McFadden's agent tells me he will meet w #Raiders on Sat. to discuss re-signing. Interesting to see value if he hits open mrkt.
— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) February 20, 2014

It has largely been believed that the Raiders are ready to move on from McFadden so it will be interesting to see how the meetings this weekend progress.

McFadden is coming off of a rough two-season stretch in which he only played in a total of 19 games while rushing for just 3.3 yards per carry.

In his six years with the Raiders, McFadden's best year came in 2010 when he played in 13 games and rushed for 1,157 rushing yards (5.2 yards per carry) and seven rushing touchdowns.

Injuries have plagued the 26-year-old running back as he has never played more than 13 games in a season during his six years in the NFL and with the Raiders. He is averaging just about 11 games a season.

It will be interesting to see what kind of money McFadden is asking for and whether or not the Raiders do decided to re-sign him. It seems that the Raiders' priority at running back would be Rashad Jennings, who replaced the injured McFadden and rushed for 733 rushing yards (4.5 yards per carry) and six rushing touchdowns.

Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Feb. 16, 2014


Monday will mark the beginning of the NFL's franchise tag period in which NFL teams can apply their franchise tags on designated players who are impending free agents. Teams have until March 3 to designate their franchise players.

Under the new collective bargaining agreement, teams now have the possibility to mark a player with a "nonexclusive franchise tender" or the "exclusive franchise tender".

If a player is hit with the "nonexclusive franchise tender" then he receives a fully-guaranteed one-year contract for the average of the previous five years of franchise tenders for that position but then adjusted to account for the league's change in salary cap. The player then has the ability to negotiate with other teams, but the team he signs with would have to surrender two first-round draft picks.

The "exclusive franchise tender" uses the same formula as the nonexclusive tender but also takes the average of the top five salaries at the position and whichever formula produces the higher salary, the player gets that fully-guaranteed, one-year salary. As the name suggests, the player may not negotiate with other teams while under the exclusive franchise tender.

The other option for either tender is if 120-percent of the players' previous year's salary then he receives that amount as his salary instead under either the exclusive or nonexclusive tender.

A third option is tagging a player with a "transition tag" which will give their player the average of the top 10 salaries and then the Raiders will have the ability to match any offer that another team may present to them. Should he sign with another team, they would not receive any draft pick compensation as they would with the nonexclusive franchise tag.

The Raiders chose to not utilize these options last year and it is unknown if Reggie McKenzie and the Raiders front office will turn to the franchise tags this year.

The Raiders undoubtedly want to retain starting left tackle Jared Veldheer but he has not yet come to an agreement with the team with free agency set to begin on March 11. Another possible candidate to receive the franchise tag is pending free agent defensive end Lamarr Houston.

Houston had a rough 2013 season getting to the passer while finishing with just six sacks on the season but remains one of the Raiders best defensive players on a team with many holes. Furthermore, the expected franchise-tag amount for a defensive end is $12.6 million, according to NFL Network's Albert Breer.

According to Breer, franchising Veldheer would cost the Raiders approximately $11.2 million and they would be getting a player who has produced more over the past couple of years despite being injured for 11 games last season.

Veldheer's position and lower cap hit makes him a more likely possibility to receive the Raiders franchise tag this offseason, though I'm sure both the team and the players would like to agree on a long-term contract instead.

Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Feb. 12, 2014

General manager Reggie McKenzie and the Oakland Raiders announced on Wednesday that they have signed running back Kory Sheets.

Sheets last played with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League from 2012-13. In his two years in the CFL, the soon-to-be 29-year-old running back amassed 2,875 rushing yards (5.6 yards per carry) and 23 rushing touchdowns. He also added 781 receiving yards on 86 receptions with two touchdown receptions. Sheets also earned the 2013 Grey Cup Most Valuable Player award as he rushed for 197 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries in the Roughriders' victory over teh Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Sheets played four years at Purdue (2005-2008) and finished second in school history with 3,341 rushing yards while also finishing with a school-record 48 rushing touchdowns.

Following his four-year tenure at Purdue, Sheets joined the San Francisco 49er's as an undrafted free agent in 2009 before he was signed to the Miami Dolphins' active roster. The 5-foot-11, 208-pound running back appeared in two games and rushed just once for five yards while with the Dolphins from 2009-2010. Sheets also spent time on the Carolina Panthers' practice squad in 2011.

The Raiders could use all the looks at running back that they can get with the possible departure of Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings to free agency.

Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Feb. 7, 2014

The Raiders have re-signed offensive lineman Lamar Mady to a one-year, $495,000 contract according to Scott Bair of CSN Bay Area. 

Mady originally signed with the Raiders right after the draft as an undrafted free agent and made an impact while stepping in and playing on an oft-injured offensive line for the Raiders last season.

Mady was active for seven games throughout the season and saw the majority of his time at right guard with starting guard Mike Brisiel fighting injury.

Mady played two years at a junior college before finishing up at Youngstown State and entering the draft.

The Raiders can use all the help they can get in the trenches, and it still remains to be seen if the Raiders will re-sign left tackle Jared Veldheer.

Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Feb. 6, 2014

The Raiders officially announced the addition of four new coaches to their coaching staff on Thursday.

The Raiders have hired Joe Woods as defensive backs coach, Marcus Robertson as assistant defensive backs coach, Chris Beniol as assistant special teams coach, and Vernon Stephens as assistant strength and conditioning coach.

Woods joins the Raiders after spending the last eight years with the Minnesota Vikings, as I talked about earlier this week here.

His full coaching history can be seen below.

Years                   College/Pro Team                             Position Coached

1992                            Muskingum                                      College Assistant
1993                            Eastern Michigan                           Graduate Assistant
1994                            Northwestern State                        Inside Linebackers
1994-96                     Grand Valley State                         Defensive Backs
1997                            Kent State                                          Defensive Backs
2001-03                     Western Michigan                           Defensive Backs
2004-05                     Tampa Bay Buccaneers                 Defensive Backs
2006-13                     Minnesota Vikings                           Defensive Backs

Robertson joins the Raiders having spent his last two seasons with the Detroit Lions. Like Woods, Robertson was ousted during a regime change with his former team, as I discussed here on Monday.

Here is Robertson's coaching history, having worked into the defensive backs coaching position after being assistant secondary coach on two different teams.

Years                     College/Pro Team                           Position Coached

2007-08                 Tennessee Titans                                 Assistant Secondary

2009-11                  Tennessee Titans                                 Secondary

2012                         Detroit Lions                                        Defensive Assistant/Secondary

2013                         Detroit Lions                                        Secondary

Beniol joins the Raiders after spending the last four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys as their assistant special teams coach.

Beniol, a former six-year NFL kicker, helped tutor Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey while he made 89/98 field goals since 2011. Bailey now has the second- and third-best single-season franchise marks for field goal percentage,  93.5 percent in 2012 and 93.3 percent in 2013. Bailey is also now second place in Cowboys history with his 89 field goals made and first on the all-time list with a 90.5 field goal percentage.

The Raiders may be hoping that Beniol can have the same success with Sebastian Janikowski who had a really rough 2013 campaign, making just 21/30 field goal attempts, only 70 percent.

Beniol's coaching history is as follows:

Years                     College/Pro Team                           Position Coached

2010-13                 Dallas Cowboys                                    Assistant Special Teams

Stephens spent the last six season with the San Diego Chargers as their assistant strength and conditioning coach. Before that, he worked with the University of Colorado after having interned with the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2002-2003.

Stephens full coaching history is listed below.

Years                     College/Pro Team                           Position Coached

1999-2002            North Florida                                      Head Strength and Conditioning

2002-03                 Jacksonville Jaguars                        Strength and Conditioning Intern

2003-06                 Colorado                                                Assistant Speed, Strength and Conditioning

2007-12                  San Diego Chargers                          Assistant Strength and Conditioning

Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Feb. 6, 2014

ESPN's draft experts Mel Kiper, Jr. and Todd McShay both updated their mock drafts on Thursday, marking their first shift in opinion since their first mock draft was released.

Kiper remained consistent with his Raiders pick stating that the Raiders would go with Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins.

Kiper acknowledges that the Raiders need a quarterback but believe that if the board goes as he predicts (which is still a very early prediction), then the Raiders may go for the best play maker on the board which would be Watkins. Kiper has QB Johnny Manziel (to Houston Texans), OT Greg Robinson (to St. Louis Rams), DE JaDaveon Clowney (to Jacksonville Jaguars) and QB Teddy Bridgewater (to Cleveland Browns) going in order ahead of the Raiders.

This would mean that the Raiders would just miss out on Bridgewater and would pass up on UCF quarterback Blake Bortles, along with OLB Khalil Mack and OLB/DE Anthony Barr.

McShay has the top five going differently with the electric, but sometimes controversial, Manziel falling to the Raiders and becoming the fifth-overall pick for Reggie McKenzie and Dennis Allen.

The Raiders certainly need to draft a quarterback and have missed having a franchise quarterback since Rich Gannon. McShay recognizes that fear that some front office personnel hold with Manziel's size but also acknowledges his "special improvisational skills, creativity and running ability."

In his top five, he has Clowney (to Houston Texans), Robinson (to Rams), Bridgewater (to Jaguars) and Bortles (to Browns) going in front of the Raiders pick. In taking Manziel, the Raiders would once again be passing up on Barr and Mack but would also be passing up on Watkins this time.

It's certainly still early and the draft always remains fluid, but it's worth taking a look at two different directions McShay and Kiper could see May's draft going. The first day of the draft is on May 8, and a lot can change in between now and then, especially with the NFL Scouting Combine at the end of the month.

Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Feb. 3, 2014

The Oakland Raiders have reportedly filled their open defensive backs coach vacancy, doing so with the hiring of Joe Woods.

Woods spent his last eight years as the defensive backs coach for the Minnesota Vikings before he was let go this offseason as the front office fired head coach Leslie Frazier and his staff.

Woods' secondary helped contribute to a Vikingsg defense that ranked sixth in the NFL in 2008 and 2009. It was the first time that a Vikings defense has been ranked in the top ten for consecutive years since 1993-94.

Woods has a total of ten NFL seasons under his belt.

The Raiders has also reportedly hired Marcus Robertson as their assistant defensive backs coach.

Robertson was also relieved of his duties along with his head coach when the Detroit Lions fired Jim Schwartz.

Robertson has served as assistant defensive backs coach and secondary coach with both the Tennessee Titans and Detroit Lions.

There's no question the Raiders needed something to change with their secondary as they continuously gave up record numbers through the air. The Raiders gave up team worsts with 33 touchdown passes allowed and a 105.1 passer rating against.

Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Feb. 1, 2014

Though one former Raiders great has been inducted into the Hall of Fame this year, it looks like former great wide receiver Tim Brown will have to wait another year.

Brown was left off the list of Hall of Fame inductees and looks like he will have to wait another year, having already waited five.

Five modern-era inductees were chosen while Brown will be left disappointed for another year. Those inductees are Walter Jones, Michael Strahan, Aenaes Williams, Derrick Brooks, and Andre Reed.

It appears that the committee decided to select Reed over Brown and first-ballot finalist Marvin Harrison.

Brown, who was with the Raiders from 1988-2003, currently holds the fifth-most receptions in league history with 1,094 to go along with the fifth most receiving yards in league history with 14,934 yards. Brown also is tied for seventh most with 100 touchdown receptions. Brown also averaged 10.1 yards per punt return and added three punt returns for touchdowns. Making his feats even more impressive, Brown suffered a torn MCL and PCL in 1989, his second year in the league.

Reed hauled in 951 receptions for 13,198 yards and 87 touchdown receptions.

Guy had waited 23 years before being inducted today, let's hope that Brown won't have to wait that long.