The Raiders will host free agent TE Anthony Becht:
The Raiders will make Cardinals tight end Anthony Becht their first free agent hosted today, according to profootballtalk.com. Given the team’s low-key start to free agency, that sounds about right.
Becht is a run-block specialist who caught seven passes last year. Looks like they’re still trying to get Zach Miller married to the right tight end, as Tom Cable once put it.
The Raiders Saturday released veteran running back Justin Fargas, leaving the teams backfield in the hands of backs Darren McFadden and Michael Bush. “Justin Fargas was a beloved Raider who performed at a high level throughout his seven seasons with the team and his contributions to the Silver and Black will always be remembered,” the team said in a statement announcing the move. “We wish Justin all the best.”
The team said Fargas failed a physical. Fargas was owed a $1.7 million bonus if he was still on the roster on Monday. It’ll now be up to McFadden to likely be the feature back, this after injuries slowed him down the first two years in the league to the point where he ran for just 856 yards and five touchdowns.
Fargas was second on the team in rushing with 491 yards and three touchdowns, averaging only 3.8 yards per carry. He had led the team in rushing the previous three seasons, with his best year coming in 2007 when he gained 1,009 yards on the ground and scored four touchdowns.
Fargas has run for 3,369 yards in seven seasons. He has averaged 4.1 yards per carry and scored 10 touchdowns. Reports say the team also will be releasing veteran DT Gerard Warren instead of paying him what he’s owed.
You tried to find any reason to fire the head coach, you brought in coaches all offseason although it was never for the head coaching position (wink wink), you hired coordinators with little interaction with your head coach, you kept what is now the sure-fire biggest bust in NFL history at QB with a coach that all but said I can’t coach that guy…all the while evaluating free agents and potential draftees which I’m guessing had little input from the head coach. Raider Nation folks!!!
The Raiders are well known for making moves in the off-season. They will sign free-agents and get rid of them the following year. They will make trades for top talent who will conveniently forget how to play at a top level until further traded. And they will draft talent that will continue to underperform until they are booed onto another team. Aren’t you excited yet!!!???
So what should they do this offseason?
Go after Jamaal Williams. Get the run-stopper you need in the middle to help those linebackers who have speed but have no ability to shed a blocker, and get a motivated player to beat the one team that you haven’t beaten since 2003.
Go after Antrel Rolle. Get the safety that makes plays, can make a tackle, and give you that QB on the defense that all teams need. See the effect Darren Sharper had this year and Bob Sanders didn’t.
Draft the best player possible. More thoughts on that as we get closer to the draft.
You have already made the worst of the possible 4 scenarios by bringing back both the coach and the QB. The fan base is not renewing their season tickets and it is highly likely that other than the Indianapolis Colts game, the rest of the games will blackout. You have to make some flashy moves this offseason, but they can’t be variety of Gabril Wilson, Javon Walker, Kwame Harris and re-signing Tommy Kelly. Get Williams and Rolle, fix 2 big needs, and draft smart.
Pro Football Talk.com reports that the Raiders have given their long snapper, Jon Condo, a second-round tender:
The Raiders capped a mystifying day the only way they know how: By giving their long-snapper a second round tender via Fed Ex. Okay, so Jon Condo is a Pro Bowler. David White of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that Condo will make $1.759 million if he signs the tender, more than three times his previous salary.
This is a rare care of the uncapped year rules helping a player make more money. But it’s still crazy that Condo got the same tender as the team’s presumptive starting quarterback, and a higher tender than their starting middle linebacker. He’s no Stanford Routt, though. In all, the Raiders have committed $7.134 million in salary to four special teamers for 2010.
The Raiders have lost a coordinator, as recently hired Clancy Pendergast has left the team to take a job at Cal-Berkeley:
Hired recently by the Oakland Raiders as their secondary coach, former Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast has a new job.
Pendergast has accepted a position as the new defensive coordinator at Cal-Berkeley, per a league source.
Pendergast was replaced in Kansas City by Romeo Crennel.
Now, he has joined Jeff Tedford’s staff after an extremely brief tenure in Oakland.
He replaces Bob Gregory, who left to join the Boise State staff as a defensive assistant.
Gregory spent eight seasons in Berkeley.
“I appreciate Bob’s dedication and loyalty to the Cal football program over the last eight seasons,” Tedford said in a statement. “This was coach Gregory’s decision all the way to make what he feels is the best move for his family.”
There has been talk about the future of Richard Seymour in Oakland, as the team had already given up a number one for him, and there was talk about if he was going to be back with the team next season. It appears now that he will, as reports from various sources say that he will be with the Raiders long term.
When the Oakland Raiders gave up a 2011 first-round pick for Patriots defensive Richard Seymour, they surely didn’t intend to have him on the team for only a year.
And he’ll apparently be around longer than a year. Unless someone wants to give up two first-round draft picks for his services.
David White of the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Wednesday that the Raiders will use the franchise tag on Seymour if they don’t sign him to a long-term deal.
Adam Schefter of ESPN has confirmed the report. Use of the franchise tag would require the Raiders to offer Seymour a one-year guaranteed contract worth $12.398 million.
Sebastian Janikowski and the Raiders agreed on a $16 million, four-year deal Tuesday that is the richest contract for a kicker in NFL history, the team said.
Janikowski will be guaranteed $9 million in the deal, a person familiar with the contract said on condition of anonymity because the team did not announce terms. ESPN first reported the contract Tuesday.
Janikowski was eligible to be an unrestricted free agent if the Raiders did not sign him to a contract or place the transition or franchise tag on him by Feb. 25. But the team was able to lock him up by giving him the same contract All Pro punter Shane Lechler got a year ago to stay out of free agency.
Janikowski is coming off the best season of his 10-year career. He made 26 of 29 field goals, with his only misses coning from 45, 57 and 66 yards. He made six kicks of at least 50 yards, including a 61-yarder that was the fourth longest in NFL history.
Janikowski also had 17 touchbacks on 58 kickoffs for the sixth best mark in the league last season.
The Raiders used a first-round pick to draft Janikowski in 2000, making him the first specialist in 21 years to go in the first round. Janikowski did not emerge as the game-changing kicker owner Al Davis hoped for at the time.
He missed 10 field goals as a rookie, and connected on only 76 percent for his first three seasons. But he has been very consistent the past two seasons, making 41 of 44 kicks inside of 50 yards. He became the all-time leading scorer in team history in 2008 and has 1,000 career points.
Don’t expect the Raiders to go after just released LB Antonio Pierce:
Linebacker Antonio Pierce is a free agent and the Raiders could potentially use a veteran presence at the position, however, don’t expect a pairing. In October, after the New York Giants smoked Oakland 44-7, Pierce unleashed a brutal assessment of Oakland. “Honestly, it felt like a scrimmage, like a practice,” Pierce said in an appearance on Sirius NFL Radio. “It felt like we were going against our offense (in practice) as far as the tempo. There was no vibe of trying or effort from the Raiders at all from a defensive standpoint against their offense. We’re getting three-and-outs. You don’t hear nobody (saying), ‘Hey, let’s go!’ trying to pick the guys up, rallying them, getting guys fired up. There was nothing. It was quiet. A guy gets sacked or somebody gets beat, they just get up. It’s not like there’s yelling or no kind of (emotion) about the way they were playing. It was shocking to be out there in that game and get that kind of feeling.” When Oakland came back to beat Philadelphia the next week, several Oakland players said Pierce’s words were motivation.
Sporting News reports that Raiders QB Bruce Gradkowski doesn’t want to change addresses in the offseason:
Raiders QB Bruce Gradkowski, a restricted free agent, has no plans to leave Oakland because it just might be his best, last chance for a long-term starting job. He is expected to battle JaMarcus Russell for the starting job in camp.
“I plan to be back with the Raiders. I think everything will work out, and I’m looking forward to it,” Gradkowski told the Toledo Blade. “We did a lot of good things this year and I’m looking forward to next season.”
Gradkowski went 2-1 as a starter for the Raiders last season before injuring both knees Dec. 13. In four NFL seasons, he has played with the Bucs, Browns and Raiders.
“My license plate says California, my driver’s license says Florida, and my home address is Pittsburgh,” Gradkowski told the Blade. “I’m all over the place, and hopefully I can settle down soon.”
Despite a loss in Super Bowl XLIV, the Colts have the inside track on winning Super Bowl XLV according to bodog.com. The Raiders are right now 100/1 to win the dance in the 2010 season. Below are all the odds on all the teams making the Super Bowl in Dallas in 2011:
Indianapolis Colts 13/2
San Diego Chargers 8/1
New England Patriots 10/1
New Orleans Saints 10/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 11/1
Dallas Cowboys 12/1
Green Bay Packers 12/1
Minnesota Vikings 12/1
Philadelphia Eagles 16/1
Baltimore Ravens 20/1
New York Giants 20/1
New York Jets 25/1
Tennessee Titans 25/1
Atlanta Falcons 30/1
Cincinnati Bengals 30/1
Arizona Cardinals 35/1
Chicago Bears 35/1
Houston Texans 35/1
Carolina Panthers 40/1
Miami Dolphins 45/1
San Francisco 49ers 45/1
Seattle Seahawks 45/1
Denver Broncos 50/1
Jacksonville Jaguars 50/1
Washington Redskins 50/1
Buffalo Bills 100/1
Cleveland Browns 100/1
Detroit Lions 100/1
Kansas City Chiefs 100/1
Oakland Raiders 100/1
St. Louis Rams 100/1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 100/1
