Raiders free-agency signing Saffold fails physical

Originally published on Silver & Black Report on March 12, 2014

The Raiders let offensive tackle Jared Veldheer walk via free agency and chose to sign offensive lineman Rodger Saffold instead. But a problem arose as Saffold reportedly failed his physical on Wednesday, leaving the left tackle position still vacant for the Raiders.

#Raiders announce that Rodger Saffold failed a physical and will not be signing with the team.
— Scott Bair (@BairCSN) March 13, 2014

Not only is that crazy enough, but Saffold has now agreed to a new five-year deal with the St. Louis Rams and will be returning to the team he was with last year.

Wow. After he failed his physical in Oakland, Rodger Saffold is headed back to the #Rams on a 5-year deal, per source
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 13, 2014


It appears that the Raiders were not satisfied with Saffold's shoulder while the Rams were not concerned about the same injure, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Raiders had concerns about Saffold's shoulder; Rams had "no concerns whatsoever" about his shoulder, per agent Alan Herman and Jared Fox.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 13, 2014


The failed physical leaves a major hole in Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie's free agency plan and they still have a void at left tackle after Veldheer bolted for the Cardinals.

The Raiders still have the draft and more free agency options to fill the void but many of the top left-tackle possibilities have already been grabbed via free agency. The Raiders still have second-year player Menelik Watson on the team but he is largely unproven as he was out for much of last year with a calf injury.