Originally published on Silver & Black Report on March 3, 2014
Just as the Oakland Raiders did last year, the front office has elected not to use any of their franchise tags as they let Monday's 1:00 p.m. PST deadline come and go. The Raiders had the opportunity to place one of three tags on a player, as explained here previously. The most likely candidates for the tags was defensive end Lamarr Houston and starting left tackle Jared Veldheer. Houston would have been given a one-year contract worth $13.116 million fully guaranteed, while Veldheer would have earned $11.654 million if either had been franchise tagged. With neither players receiving the tags, the team must now try to agree to a long-term contract with them in order to retain their services. The team will have to find the solution quickly with free agency rapidly approaching as players can start talking to teams on March 8 and start signing new contracts March 11. The front office must have a sense of urgency now as they won't want to see Houston or Veldheer sign with another team.
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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. 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. Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Feb. 1, 2014 Raiders great and former punter Ray Guy has finally been inducted into the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame. Finally. News broke on Saturday night that Guy will finally make the trip to Canton after waiting 23 years for this moment. Your 2014 Hall of Fame class: Michael Strahan, Derrick Brooks, Walter Jones, Aeneas Williams, Andre Reed, Ray Guy, Claude Humphrey. — ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) February 2, 2014 Guy, now 64 years old, had been named a finalist seven previous times but had yet to receive the necessary 80-percent votes. But Guy had increased hope this year as he was nominated by the Senior Committee. Eight of the last nine Senior Committee nominations have been inducted, though Guy still had to receive 80-percent of the votes. Through the Senior Committee's 42 years of nominating players for enshrinement, 38 of 49 of them were inducted, prior to today. Guy is the first and only punter to be selected in the first round of the NFL draft, going 23rd overall to the Raiders in 1973. Guy is largely considered the best punter of all time finishing with a 42.4 yard average in 207 games with the Raiders. Guy also averaged over 40 yards per punt in 13 of his 14 NFL seasons. 23 years after he first became eligible in 1991, Guy can now say that he is a Hall of Fame punter. Guy is also the Raiders 22nd Hall of Fame inductee. Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Jan. 28, 2014
After keeping much of the coaching staff intact, Raiders quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo appears to be drawing some interest from the Cleveland Browns to fill their open offensive coordinator position. One other offensive coach to keep an eye on for Browns: Raiders QBs coach John DeFilippo. Cleveland has shown some interest. — Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 28, 2014 DeFilippo has worked with the Raiders for a total of four years, two separate two-year stints (2007-2008, 2012-2013). In between his stints, he worked as a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for the San Jose State Spartans. As offensive coordinator for the San Jose State, the Spartans ranked 23rd in the nation with 276.8 passing yards per game and also set a school single-season record with 297 passing completions. Should the Browns extend an offer, DeFilippo may be drawn in by the money and the ability to climb up another step of the NFL ladder and being named an offensive coordinator. UPDATE (12:14 p.m. 1/28/2014): ESPN's Adam Schefter is now reporting that DeFilippo is scheduled for an interview with the Browns on Thursday. In addition to Kyle Shanahan on Wednesday, Browns also scheduled to interview Raiders QB coach John Defilippo on Thursday for their OC job. Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Jan. 22, 2014
There will certainly be a lot of news coming out of the Senior Bowl and upcoming events that will relate to the Raiders, but there's no question that any news relating to quarterback prospects are especially interesting. The team is expected to target a quarterback in this year's draft after missing on Tyler Wilson in the fourth round last year. Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie has also made it known that the Raiders do in fact need a franchise quarterback. Just a day after Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd told WalterFootball.com that the Raiders have shown him the most interest, more news broke about the young quarterback. According to Rotoworld, a Green Bay Packers scout called Boyd "not draftable." Boyd possesses many of the assets teams look for in a quarterback but he can also be inaccurate. His accuracy during this weekend's Senior Bowl will certainly be something scouts will be keeping a close eye on. Boyd finished his senior season completing 69 percent of his passes for 3,851 yards, 34 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while also rushing for 400 yards. What occurs for Boyd on the field the remainder of the week and in the game on Saturday will likely have a strong impact on his draft stock. Boyd is currently believed to go in the second round. |
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