Well you can take the plans of signing Ndamukong Suh and Randall Cobb and burn them. Even though free agency hasn't started yet, the past weekend was the time for the unrestricted FAs and their agents to negotiate with teams on a deal to stay with their designated team or leave for another team. Suh and Cobb were definitely top targets for the Raiders and it would've provided much help for Khalil Mack and Derek Carr. Unfortunately, Cobb agreed to re-sign with the Packers to a 4 year $40 million deal, the Raiders would've offered him much more than that, but clearly Cobb wanted to be Green Bay. As for Suh, he agreed to sign with the Miami Dolphins to a 6 year $114 million deal, making him the highest paid player at his position. Not signing Suh, I could understand that the Raiders still have to many holes to fill on this roster and though signing Suh would've been a big help to the D-line, it's just not worth it where it will cost Reggie to address the team with depth at all positions. The Randall Cobb deal was the probably that hurts more considering that he was the best receiver in the free agency class aside from Jeremy Maclin, who agreed to sign with the division rival Chiefs. However, that leaves the option to draft either Kevin White or Amari Cooper in the first round open.
Luckily today, it was reported that the Raiders have agreed to deal with Chiefs center, Rodney Hudson. According to the contract details, Hudson's deal is going to be worth $44.5 million for 5 years. A good upgrade at the position as Hudson was ranked the 3rd best center in the league according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). This signing also indicates that Stefen Wisniewski could be on his way out of Oakland. The deal's not official until tomorrow, but at least the Raiders managed to get one of their top 5 free agent priorities along with Knighton, Julius Thomas/Maclin, Cobb, and Suh.
So where do the Raiders stand right now in free agency? They have $60 million in the salary cap again plus the contractions of Tyvon Branch, Maurice Jones-Drew, and LaMarr Woodley, that puts the Raiders at like $69-70 million and they have to overpay some free agents to be on the cap floor according to the NFL collective bargaining agreement. Agreeing to sign the 3rd best center in the league for a huge amount of money is a start. I'd like the Raiders to keep addressing both the offensive line and defensive line. They're not always bright pick ups, but everything is won in the trenches. With Hudson out of the way, the next priorities for the Raiders are Terrance Knighton and Mike Iupati. Signing Iupati would solidify that O-line for a couple of years and with Knighton, imagine Pot Roast and Jelly in the middle, nobody should be running up the middle and stopping the run has been a problem for the Raiders. Pass rush is important too, but I look for the Raiders to address that in the draft if they choose not to use that 4th pick on either White or Cooper. Other notable free agents to note, Jermaine Gresham has been on the Raiders' radar. Considering that Julius Thomas could be on his way to Jacksonville, Gresham wouldn't be that bad, also Jordan Cameron is another option. Mychal Rivera is decent, but the Raiders need a tight end who can block and catch at the same time. The David Ausberry experiment was a failure and Carr needs that security blanket, especially since under Bill Musgrave, they'll be incorporating some of the Chip Kelly no-huddle offense.
This Reggie Mckenzie's redux with a lot of money to spend in the offseason again. Last year, he took an over the hill veteran approach to provide leadership in that locker room. Tuck, Penn, James Jones, they were worthy of staying. Antonio Smith, he played decent down the stretch at the DT position, but he's better off at his natural position at defensive end and being a backup. Everybody else like Tarell Brown, Rogers, MJD, Schaub, Woodley, they had no business being on the team. Hopefully with a mix of veteran and young players to add in the free agency, this long rebuilding process speeds up and adds on to the core that's being built, this time under the guise of proven head coach Jack Del Rio. Be sure to check out the blog tomorrow for signings because it will be updated constantly. I'll have a different approach in analyzing the FA period as I will have separate posts on the big signings whether it's signing a notable free agent or signing an FA to a huge contract. It's going to be an exciting time tomorrow Raider Nation. I'll see you guys then.
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