The official 2014 Raiders offseason thread

  • Wanna Join? New users you can now register lightning fast using your Facebook or Twitter accounts.

REACHTMO

panty vandalizer
Aug 7, 2011
1,911
2,106
113
35
Lmao^

Lamar didnt want to come back. I honestly dont even think he had a price to make him stay. I hope he's successful in chicago.

Mcfaddens contract is all incentive based. 1 mil guaranteed, and the rest he will have to earn. So if he rides the bench all year he wont be making 4 mil. makes him that much easiar to trade too

Honestly, Its a good contract, and not a bad move if we can get our shit togethor on the o-line. I dont think he'll be the starter either.
 
Last edited:
Jan 11, 2006
5,728
1,890
0
45
grouchoweed.ipbfree.com
I really hoped to retain Jennings and am greatly disappointed he wasn’t. Resigning McFadden was shocking and I had written him off already. They got him at a good value though, we’ll see if he can manage to play more than 8 games. The Raiders need a lot of help and don’t appear to be getting it anytime soon.
 

Chree

Medicated
Dec 7, 2005
32,365
13,867
113
39
ok @Chree i was wrong we are not on our way up after all lol.
Lol told u. I didn't say it to be a hater. I mean they lost arguably 2 of their beat players who could've been franchised or even paid more than they recieved. The franchise and team are both in shambles and I'm sure agents advise their clients to avoid it unless they wanna get cashed out
 
Props: Mr G and Mr G
Jan 18, 2006
14,367
6,557
113
43
I see what ur saying but Reggie is just a dumb fuck that thinks cutting salaries is the answer to everything. We have to keep some of our decent players cuz its not we have that many good players.
 
Props: Tony and Tony
Jan 29, 2005
11,578
89,277
113
41
PHX
I wouldn't even call them great. I mean it won't be hard replacing all those pro bowls they earned and all the wins they brought us lol people mistake above average raider players for great league players, I been in that category too
I think Jennings and Houston are great players and Veldeer has potential to be great.

All 3 are still pretty young in the league also, only have room to improve.
 

Meta4iCAL

Raider Nation
Feb 21, 2005
19,635
4,278
113
38
Word is the reason we didn't sign Veldheer is because of his brother being his agent, his brother who has zero experience being an nfl agent. I guess the family got all butt hurt when the raiders didn't give him a deal right away and didn't give him the franchise tag. The raiders wanted to continue negotiating, but it turned emotional rather than being all business because his brother was handling things. I guess they just decided they were done talking to the raiders. Sounds like it's not entirely the raiders fault. Heard that on 95.7 from John Middlekauf, who's usually pretty hard on the raiders, and not a homer by any means
 

Meta4iCAL

Raider Nation
Feb 21, 2005
19,635
4,278
113
38
I think Jennings and Houston are great players and Veldeer has potential to be great.

All 3 are still pretty young in the league also, only have room to improve.
I guess 'great' is subjective, but I wouldn't call them great. They're all good players, but to me great means your top 5 to 10 at your position.
 

Tony

Sicc OG
May 15, 2002
13,165
970
113
47
Word is the reason we didn't sign Veldheer is because of his brother being his agent, his brother who has zero experience being an nfl agent. I guess the family got all butt hurt when the raiders didn't give him a deal right away and didn't give him the franchise tag. The raiders wanted to continue negotiating, but it turned emotional rather than being all business because his brother was handling things. I guess they just decided they were done talking to the raiders. Sounds like it's not entirely the raiders fault. Heard that on 95.7 from John Middlekauf, who's usually pretty hard on the raiders, and not a homer by any means
On talk live, they said that his brother is his agent but the Raiders were offering $7 million less in guaranteed money than the Cardinals.
 
Nov 20, 2013
629
1,712
93
Reggie McKenzie: Oakland Will Spend Money, Just Not All at Once
These are salad days for NFL owners. Forbes values 23 of the 32 franchises at over $1 billion, record-level television contracts are kicking in, and there are seven years remaining on a favorable CBA. With young players being squeezed (drafted players must sign four-year contracts at fixed rates) and older veterans being purged (just look at this week’s waiver wire), those now carrying the banner for improved plater economics are the “sweet spot” free agents emerging from rookie contracts who are between the optimal ages of 25 to 27. Two days into free agency, the team to watch is the Raiders, who are flush with salary cap room like no other in 2014.

Under the leadership of the late Al Davis, the Raiders were reluctant to pay market price for coaches, executives and front office staff. But they were always willing to pay—and overpay—players. In the agent community, the best call one could receive was from Davis. He loved players: picking them, counseling them and paying them.

In Davis’ later years, many of those contracts had consequences when the players didn’t perform well. When new general manager Reggie McKenzie entered the picture two years ago, he turned the page on dozens of contracts with years remaining, leaving about $56 million in “dead money” in their wake. While other teams operated on a $123 million cap in 2013, the Raiders were left to compete with 60% of that number, roughly $75 million in negotiable dollars for their active players.

That was then; this is now.
Having atoned for previous contractual sins, the Raiders are now playing at an advantage compared to the rest of the league. They entered the 2014 league calendar with close to $60 million in cap room. And with their minimal spending last year and team minimum spending accounting ahead for 2013-2016, all eyes are on the Raiders’ checkbook.

In its new financial era, Oakland allowed Jared Veldheer, Lamarr Houston and Rashad Jennings to leave while acquiring tackles Rodger Saffold ($42.5 million, $21 million guaranteed) and Austin Howard ($30 million, $15 million guaranteed). Hopefully, with their ample cap room, the Raiders structured the deals with disproportionate cap containment this year, allowing them to exit the contracts later, if need be, with little pain.

Raider Nation, judging from Twitter and media reaction, was not impressed. After a two year grace period, fans are restless. In their minds, it’s time for a referendum on McKenzie. While I am not qualified to evaluate Saffold and Howard compared to Veldheer or anyone else, I can comment on the man who made those decisions.

I worked closely with McKenzie for nine years in the Packers’ front office. When negotiating contracts, I would often rely on him for unfiltered views on players that both the agent and I were using as comparables. He had vast knowledge of players from every team and made it very clear whom he liked and whom he didn’t.

Reggie had his terms of endearment for players. He valued brute strength in linemen, both offensive and defensive, and would slow the film down to watch plays that showed one lineman physically overmatching another. In his Tennessee drawl he’d say, “Look at this big joker…BAM!” When Reggie referred to a player as “country strong,” I knew that was a high compliment. He felt that way about several of the offensive linemen we had in Green Bay, especially Chad Clifton, and I’m certain he feels that way about Saffold and Howard.

And the slow teardown that the Raiders just endured fits Reggie well. If Reggie is anything, he is deliberate. He walks slowly, he talks slowly, he eats slowly and he will build slowly. Saffold and Howard are the first expenditures of the $60 million in cap room, and there will be more, with reports of veterans Justin Tuck and LaMarr Woodley set to visit. Cap room doesn’t have to be exhausted in March; it can be spent through December.

Reggie mirrors some elements of the two general managers we had in Green Bay. He has the courage of his convictions about players that Ron Wolf had, including blunt assessments of their talent. But Reggie also has the patience of Ted Thompson; he adheres to the draft-and-develop model of team-building. The latter means trusting scouts to constantly fill a pipeline of young talent, empowering coaches to play and develop young players, and identifying core players to secure contractually for the future.

I know the last thing Raider Nation wants to hear is a plea for more patience, but a new era of cap prosperity has just begun. I admit to bias, but Reggie is consumed with finding the right players for his team, no matter how long it takes or where he finds them. Saffold and Howard, however uninspiring, are just the start of the book on 2014. Let’s see how the chapters play out.
Oakland Raiders have money to spend, fans must be patient | The MMQB with Peter King