THE OFFICIAL OAKLAND RAIDERS 2009 OFFSEASON THREAD
- Thread starter Meta4iCAL
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(02-11) 18:30 PST -- The Raiders are on the verge of re-signing cornerback Chris Johnson, whose emergence made a two-time Pro Bowler expendable last season, a team source familiar with the talks said Wednesday.
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Johnson's solid play with Raiders expected to pay off 02.11.09
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Both sides continue to negotiate the terms of the deal, which is expected to be more than rich enough to persuade Johnson not to hit the free-agent market Feb. 27.
So continues the astronomical career leap for Johnson, who went from a special teams role player to replacing DeAngelo Hall, a two-time Pro Bowler, by the middle of last season.
The Raiders traded two draft picks for Hall last year. After he struggled with Oakland's man-coverage defense, the Raiders released him after eight games and $8 million paid.
Raiders coach Tom Cable said the move was made, in part, because Johnson was simply a better player. At the time, he had two seasons of playing experience after being a seventh-round draft pick in 2003, with three seasons lost to injury.
Finally a starter, Johnson certainly played better than Hall after the change. He had three interceptions, a forced fumble and a team-high 12 passes defended.
Asomugha update: Next, the Raiders will lock in their other cornerback, Pro Bowl starter Nnamdi Asomugha, on whom owner Al Davis has said the Raiders intend to use the exclusive franchise tag for a second straight year.
They have until Feb. 19 to make the designation, which prohibits the player from negotiating with other teams.
Last year, the Raiders waited until the deadline day to franchise-tag Asomugha. He suspects they'll drag it out again this time.
"Last year, Al (Davis) called me the day before just to let me know he's going to do it, and then they waited until the very last possible second," Asomugha said Wednesday. "I don't know how they'll do it this year, but the expectation from my agent is that the tag will happen."
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Images
View Larger Image
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Oakland Raiders
Raiders Home
Silver and Black Blog
Standings | Schedule
Stats | Roster | Injuries | Depth
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NFL
Scoreboard | Players | Stats
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More Raiders
Morning Huddle 02.11.09
Favre says this time it's for real 02.11.09
Names & Faces 02.12.09
Johnson's solid play with Raiders expected to pay off 02.11.09
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Both sides continue to negotiate the terms of the deal, which is expected to be more than rich enough to persuade Johnson not to hit the free-agent market Feb. 27.
So continues the astronomical career leap for Johnson, who went from a special teams role player to replacing DeAngelo Hall, a two-time Pro Bowler, by the middle of last season.
The Raiders traded two draft picks for Hall last year. After he struggled with Oakland's man-coverage defense, the Raiders released him after eight games and $8 million paid.
Raiders coach Tom Cable said the move was made, in part, because Johnson was simply a better player. At the time, he had two seasons of playing experience after being a seventh-round draft pick in 2003, with three seasons lost to injury.
Finally a starter, Johnson certainly played better than Hall after the change. He had three interceptions, a forced fumble and a team-high 12 passes defended.
Asomugha update: Next, the Raiders will lock in their other cornerback, Pro Bowl starter Nnamdi Asomugha, on whom owner Al Davis has said the Raiders intend to use the exclusive franchise tag for a second straight year.
They have until Feb. 19 to make the designation, which prohibits the player from negotiating with other teams.
Last year, the Raiders waited until the deadline day to franchise-tag Asomugha. He suspects they'll drag it out again this time.
"Last year, Al (Davis) called me the day before just to let me know he's going to do it, and then they waited until the very last possible second," Asomugha said Wednesday. "I don't know how they'll do it this year, but the expectation from my agent is that the tag will happen."
Update: Chris Johnson is signed
The Raiders re-signed cornerback Chris Johnson to a four-year contract, his agent confirmed Thursday, as the team made its first significant player transaction move of the offseason. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Johnson went from a special teams and nickel-package player to a replacement for two-time Pro Bowler DeAngelo Hall midway through last season. He had three interceptions, 12 passes defensed and a forced fumble.
He could have become an unrestricted free agent Feb. 27. He chose to stick with the first team to give him a chance to start since he was picked in the seventh round of the 2003 draft by the Packers.
"It was the best opportunity for him," agent Anthony Brown said. "His loyalty was to Mr. Davis for all the wonderful things he's done for him."
Johnson has what Al Davis likes to call "Raider speed." Though he'll be 29 years old when the 2009 season starts, Johnson has only three seasons of actual playing time under his belt so the Raiders are confident he has several good years to go.
Johnson should start opposite of Pro Bowl Nnamdi Asomugha, who expects (and is expected to) be retained with the exclusive franchise tag by next Thursday's deadline.
The Raiders re-signed cornerback Chris Johnson to a four-year contract, his agent confirmed Thursday, as the team made its first significant player transaction move of the offseason. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Johnson went from a special teams and nickel-package player to a replacement for two-time Pro Bowler DeAngelo Hall midway through last season. He had three interceptions, 12 passes defensed and a forced fumble.
He could have become an unrestricted free agent Feb. 27. He chose to stick with the first team to give him a chance to start since he was picked in the seventh round of the 2003 draft by the Packers.
"It was the best opportunity for him," agent Anthony Brown said. "His loyalty was to Mr. Davis for all the wonderful things he's done for him."
Johnson has what Al Davis likes to call "Raider speed." Though he'll be 29 years old when the 2009 season starts, Johnson has only three seasons of actual playing time under his belt so the Raiders are confident he has several good years to go.
Johnson should start opposite of Pro Bowl Nnamdi Asomugha, who expects (and is expected to) be retained with the exclusive franchise tag by next Thursday's deadline.
Jaguars part ways with Porter, Florence
Feb 11, 5:31 pm EST
Buzz up!14 votes PrintJACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP)—The Jacksonville Jaguars essentially acknowledged two failed free agent acquisitions Wednesday by releasing receiver Jerry Porter and cornerback Drayton Florence.
The Jaguars paid more than $23 million for Porter and Florence to step into starting roles last year, but both failed to make an impact on the field and may have been even less impressive in the locker room. Teammates privately blamed them for chemistry issues that plagued Jacksonville (5-11) all season.
“In going through our personnel evaluations and roster analysis we are making decisions that we believe will help improve our team for the 2009 season and beyond,” Jaguars general manager Gene Smith said.
Porter signed a six-year, $30 million contract that included $10 million guaranteed. He also earned $1 million in salary last season, but caught just 11 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown.
He started the season on the physically unable to perform list following hamstring surgery and ended the year on injured reserve (groin). Teammates singled him out as a main culprit for the chemistry problems—a label Porter first earned in Oakland.
Florence signed a six-year, $36 million deal with about $12 million guaranteed. He also got $1 million in salary last season, but couldn’t win a starting job. He spent most of the season playing in nickel and dime situations, and giving that much money to a backup raised eyebrows around the locker room.
“Obviously, I endorsed them or we wouldn’t have done them, so I’m not going to go back and second guess what was done,” team owner Wayne Weaver said last month. “We just have to learn from our mistakes and move on.”
Weaver parted ways with personnel chief James “Shack” Harris in December, partly because of the two failed free agent signings.
Cutting them will save the club about $8.3 million in salary in 2009. Florence was scheduled to make $1.9 million in base salary with a $2.5 million roster bonus. Porter was due to make $1.9 million in base salary with a $2 million roster bonus.
Porter what a fuck up glad we dumped him should have traded that dick when he was worth a 2nd or 3rd draft pick the year Art Shell was the coach.
Feb 11, 5:31 pm EST
Buzz up!14 votes PrintJACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP)—The Jacksonville Jaguars essentially acknowledged two failed free agent acquisitions Wednesday by releasing receiver Jerry Porter and cornerback Drayton Florence.
The Jaguars paid more than $23 million for Porter and Florence to step into starting roles last year, but both failed to make an impact on the field and may have been even less impressive in the locker room. Teammates privately blamed them for chemistry issues that plagued Jacksonville (5-11) all season.
“In going through our personnel evaluations and roster analysis we are making decisions that we believe will help improve our team for the 2009 season and beyond,” Jaguars general manager Gene Smith said.
Porter signed a six-year, $30 million contract that included $10 million guaranteed. He also earned $1 million in salary last season, but caught just 11 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown.
He started the season on the physically unable to perform list following hamstring surgery and ended the year on injured reserve (groin). Teammates singled him out as a main culprit for the chemistry problems—a label Porter first earned in Oakland.
Florence signed a six-year, $36 million deal with about $12 million guaranteed. He also got $1 million in salary last season, but couldn’t win a starting job. He spent most of the season playing in nickel and dime situations, and giving that much money to a backup raised eyebrows around the locker room.
“Obviously, I endorsed them or we wouldn’t have done them, so I’m not going to go back and second guess what was done,” team owner Wayne Weaver said last month. “We just have to learn from our mistakes and move on.”
Weaver parted ways with personnel chief James “Shack” Harris in December, partly because of the two failed free agent signings.
Cutting them will save the club about $8.3 million in salary in 2009. Florence was scheduled to make $1.9 million in base salary with a $2.5 million roster bonus. Porter was due to make $1.9 million in base salary with a $2 million roster bonus.
Porter what a fuck up glad we dumped him should have traded that dick when he was worth a 2nd or 3rd draft pick the year Art Shell was the coach.
I thought Porter could be a good WR when he was in oakland but his poor attitude was always a problem wether it was Gruden or Shell he alway seemed to be on somebodies bad side. When Shell sidelined him I felt they should have just traded him instead if he was that big of a problem. But thats just the way I felt about it back then.