Not worth it
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Saturday, March 1st, 2008 at 5:41 pm in Oakland Raiders.
I remember last year around this time when Raider fans, anxious for a piece of free agent action, were ready to pitch themselves out of windows because players scheduled for visits such as running back Travis Henry and tight end Daniel Graham ended up signing with Denver.
So Bernard Berrian signs with Minnesota and Donte Stallworth with Cleveland . . . so what?
Berrian, Stallworth and Jerry Porter pocketed $36 million worth of guaranteed money in the free agent market.
Porter’s career high in receiving yards is 998, Berrian had a personal best 951 last season and Stallworth topped out at 945 in New Orleans.
None of them, obviously, were among the 23 receivers in the NFL who had 1,000 yards receiving in 2007. Or among the 19 that had 1,000 yards in 2006. Or included in the group of 20 that had 1,00 yards in 2005.
In 2004, 24 receivers had 1,000 yards receiving and Porter was 25th at 998.
Getting 1,000 yards in the NFL doesn’t make you an elite receiver. It just includes you in the conversation of the very good.
As shaky as the Raiders receiving corps looked last season, much of the lack of production had to do with quarterback play. If Oakland can get JaMarcus Russell going and adequately protect him, receiving numbers will follow.
And those numbers won’t come at the cost of Porter, Berrian or Stallworth.
Losing players such as Henry and Graham wasn’t what hurt the Raiders last season, because they were outperformed by the likes of Justin Fargas and Zach Miller. Both came much cheaper and established themselves as part of Oakland’s future.
Sometimes the best free agent move is the guy you didn’t sign.