Open Thread: Oakland Raiders Only Transactions

The back up Cowboys linebacker is scheduled to visit the Raiders on Tuesday. In two starts last season Burnett, 6-foot-3 and 242 pounds, recorded 38 tackles and two sacks.

Here’s some more news about linebacker Kevin Burnett.

He is a standout special teams player, but he’s limited to passing downs as a linebacker. The Cowboys may not try to match offers now that Keith Brooking is on board.

This is Great news he would be a great asset along with burgess hope we sign him cheap .

and rec my FA thread so I can get back on here?

The Raiders are reportedly interested in signing offensive tackle Orlando Pace.

According to the Sacramento Bee, Javon Walker is due to receive a guaranteed $5 million roster bonus on Tuesday. The Raiders only could get out of paying it if Walker redid his contract, but that won’t happen. Walker has a very good chance to be on the 2009 roster.

Please don’t trade our beautiful draft picks for a old guy. He is smart and good but still, not a draft pick. I hope this doesn’t happen FA only.

According to the Miami Herald, the Dolphins are reportedly poised to offer free agent center Jake Grove a five-year contract offer.

A contract is expected to be finalized on Tuesday.

Per Adam Schefter:

Miami did it again Tuesday, signing former Raiders center Jake Grove to a five-year, $29.5 million deal that includes $14 million in guaranteed money.

Wow $14 million guaranteed!! Miami is crazy!

Per Adam Schefter:

Oakland is hosting visits today with two of Seattle’s free agents, quarterback Charlie Frye and offensive tackle Ray Willis. Frye could serve as a backup for JaMarcus Russell, and Willis has drawn interest around the league from tackle-needy teams.

Here’s what scouts say about Willis:

Willis is a four-year player who started 10 games last year. He has played both guard and tackle and he has good size and strength. He’s an adequate overall athlete who can create movement in the run game, due to his strength and leg drive after contact. He has limited lateral quickness and struggles to adjust on the move. He lacks ideal body control in space to secure on the run. He will fall off contact, if he gets overextended and shows limited hip flexibility and body control. He has adequate foot quickness in pass protection. He tends to play upright and will expose his chest for defenders, while attempting to grab wide with his hands. He can be walked back quickly at times, when defenders get inside his frame and will struggle to anchor. He does a good job of attacking on the short set, where his upper-body strength can lock down defenders quickly.

Per Adam Schefter

[T]he Raiders did make one signing today.

Changes in Denver led to an opportunity for offensive tackle Erik Pears in Oakland. Once Denver did not place a contract tender on Pears, he became an unrestricted free agent. And once Pears became an unrestricted free agent, he jumped at the chance to sign with the Raiders, who will give him a chance to compete for playing time at offensive tackle. After becoming an undrafted free agent, Pears was with Denver from 2005-2008.

Link

Pears played both left and right tackle for Denver in 2006 and 2007, but spent most of last year on the non-football injury list after undergoing an emergency appendectomy last October.

Not sure exactly where Pears fits into the Raiders’ O-line puzzle, but he certainly adds some depth.

Center Melvin Fowler to visit the Raiders today.

Here’s what the scouts say:

Fowler is six-year veteran who has been a very steady performer in the middle of the Bills’ offensive line. He has above-average size and strength, but wins with quickness, technique, intelligence and toughness. Fowler does a great job to snap and step quickly while taking proper angles to gain leverage. He has good hand use and foot agility to stay connected. He can slam and chip well to the second level or scoop offset-defenders with great quickness and technique. He doesn’t have great power to get movement on the larger defensive tackles in the league and can be walked back some when one-on-one verse bull rushers. He has excellent flexibility and understands how to set and reset quickly to recover as the play unfolds. He has excellent instincts and a tremendous feel for the game, making all the line calls up front. He reacts quick to changing fronts and blitzes to keep Buffalo’s offensive line in the best blocking schemes. Fowler has been very durable over the past few seasons and has become a mainstay on this improving Buffalo offensive line.

Grove just got nearly 6 milayear for 5 YEARS!!!!

That is pretty high for a player coming off of microfracture surgery that has had an injury plagued career.

Now center/guard will visit the Raiders today according to FoxSports.com

Preston is the one who replaced Fowler at center last season. 26 yrs old, 6-5, 326 lbs.

Here’s what the scouts say about Duke Preston:

Preston has seen more time as a starter in 2008 as a center and offensive guard. He has excellent size, strength and athleticism for an interior offensive lineman. He has natural power to anchor in the middle of the line as well as enough strength to get movement on double teams and power zone-blocking schemes in the running game. Preston is limited in space to connect with targets on the second level, but he’s a solid technician who understands angles and combination-blocking schemes. He uses his hands well to gain leverage and does a nice job to lock on and stay connected, once engaged. Preston doesn’t have the initial quickness that C Melvin Fowler has, but can be effective as a second-level blocker, when he keeps his pads down. He appears to have a good feel for the game and reacts well to stunts and twists. He was more aggressive in 2008 and is a versatile player who has value giving depth along the offensive line, but he’s shown he can also be an effective starter.

Raiders Transactions page is showing that Cooper Carlisle and Tony Stewart were re-signed. Put it on the big board.

Can anyone tell me the contract details for Eric Pears? Thank You!

According to Albert Breer of SportingNews.com:

Barnes had a visit scheduled to New Orleans at the start of the free agent signing period last week.

However, that meeting was nullified by the Saints re-signing Jon Stinchcomb to a five-year contract.

Barnes, 26, started every game last season at left tackle for the Jaguars, who experienced a lot of injuries along the offensive lin

meaning the raiders will get crabtree

No matter who the Raiders get, we eventually fall in love with that player.

Big News! Raiders Sign Khalif Barnes. Here’s the link. Not a very trustworthy site, but very interesting,

http://www.topix.com/forum/nfl/oakland-raiders/TSE15DRFU8IQGSEMI

I hope so, here’s the link.

http://www.ibabuzz.com/raidersblog/2009/03/05/raiders-confirm-walker-boller-a-possibility/#more-4215

Contacted by Pro Football Talk on Thursday, the Raiders were noncommittal when asked if they’ll pursue free agent wide receiver Terrell Owens.

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen says that the Raiders are the only team “I can see him going to” right now.

Oakland is putting a lot of faith in Chaz Schilens and Johnnie Lee Higgins. “We’re as happy as can be right now,” club spokesman John Herrera said.

If we act now, we may be able to get a Butterfinger, a used DVD, and an expired Chick-fil-A coupon for him.
He’s useless in my opinion.

http://gridironfans.com/forums/latest-nfl-headlines/90725-raiders-close-deal-free-agent-t-khalif-barnes-today.html

Free agent fullback Justin Griffith, formerly of the Raiders, has scheduled a visit with the Seahawks.

Looks like Justin Miller might be gone. He recently went to the Titans for a visit. This is a damn shame. Fucking Titans always taking our returners.
http://www.titansonline.com/news/titans_news_detail.php?PRKey=6640

According to Joe Fortenbaugh of the National football Post:

Free agent offensive tackle Khalif Barnes is expected to sign a multi-year deal with the Oakland Raiders today, a league source has just informed me.

A four-year veteran out of the University of Washington, Barnes has spent his entire career with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=11&entry_id=36661

Despite reports to the contrary, Khalif Barnes’ agent now says his client will not sign with the Raiders.

This report makes some good points and states some thing the Raiders should do.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=11&entry_id=36696

I would like to see more effort like fargas does i mean every play fargas gives 110% and if D-Mac wants to earn his money he should become a leader and not get Chased down by a free safety while running in the open feild (Week 2)

RaiderBeat.com is reporting that the Raiders are still in the running OT Khalif Barnes:

Free-agent offensive tackle Khalif Barnes within the past few days has discussed with several teams the possibility of signing a contract. At one point, his agent felt as if he had a deal in place with the Raiders.
Ultimately, Raiders managing general partner Al Davis wasn’t ready to commit to Barnes. As a result, Barnes’ agent, Kenny Zuckerman, re-opened negotiations with other teams.
Zuckerman wasn’t able to work out a deal over the weekend with any team. That brings him back to the Raiders.
Barnes is itching to get a deal done, and Zuckerman is eager to make that a reality at the start of this week. The Raiders aren’t out of the equation, though they no longer are considered the clear-cut front-runner for Barnes.
The talks hit a snag when Davis put on the brakes so that he could be certain whether he wanted to sign a veteran offensive tackle or to select one of the handful of highly rated prospects with the No. 7 pick in the NFL Draft.
Barnes played for the Jacksonville Jaguars the past four seasons.

Take it for what it’s worth, but RaiderBeat.com reports this:

A last-ditch effort to revive on-again, off-again talks with the Raiders about signing free-agent offensive tackle Khalif Barnes failed Monday.

The Raiders informed Barnes’ agent, Kenny Zuckerman, that they no longer are interested in signing Barnes, according to a team source.

The two sides discussed the parameters for a deal late last week and appeared close to working out the details. Managing general partner Al Davis stepped in and halted the negotiations because he isn’t ready to commit to who he wants protecting quarterback JaMarcus Russell’s blindside.

Davis, according to the team source, wasn’t sold on Barnes and still is considering using Oakland’s first-round draft pick (No. 7) on one of the many offensive tackle prospects available in this year’s NFL Draft.

The Raiders released Kwame Harris in February and have been discussing potential ways to fill the void ever since.

Third-year player Mario Henderson is the projected starter for now. Erik Pears was signed earlier this month and is viewed as a potential starter. The plans could change in an instant if the Raiders pursue a free agent such as Marvel Smith or opt to draft a tackle April 25-26.

Zuckerman could not be reached for comment. A Raiders official said he is not permitted to comment on contract negotiations.

If he’s not all for playing on a team that is young, on the rise, and has a coach that is highly regaurded by the entire organization (and quite frankly, I’ve not heard 1 negative word spoken of him period), I question him and his overall charactor. Let him go, and persue Marvel Smith. Put together a fair, incentive heavy contract, see what can happen with him. Hell… we only need him to block long enough for the play to develop. Big Ben kills those guys.

But a week ago I was thinking the same thing. I do like the idea of Runyan, though I don’t see him leaving Philly.
As far as the injury of Smith, Thats why I was kinda leaning on the incentive layden piece of a contract

Any thoughts on Marvin Harrison’s availability ?

In the “under the radar news”, the Raiders have hired Aaron Pelch to be assistant special teams coach under John Fassell. Special Teams, already a strong point for the Raiders, but it is always nice to strengthen a strength. Here is the story as reported by WJTV.com:

Millsaps College head football coach Mike DuBose announced today the resignation of assistant head coach and special teams coach Aaron Pelch who will join the NFL’s Oakland Raiders on Monday, March 9 as the assistant special teams coach.

"Aaron did a tremendous job for us these last three years at Millsaps" DuBose said. "He is a very talented individual that will be in this profession for a long time. We wish him the best."

Pelch joined the Majors’ staff in 2006, and in his first year, helped four players garner All-SCAC recognition, including three defensive linemen. In SCAC play, the Majors’ defensive line ranked second in rushing defense (124.8 ypg), while as a unit, the front line totaled 173 tackles, 30 tackles-for-loss, 7.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and three QB hurries.

Led by Casey Younger in 2007, the SCAC’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year, the defensive line picked up right where it left off the previous season, ranking first in the SCAC in rushing defense at 93.3 ypg – an improvement of 31.5 ypg in 2006. Younger and Denarold Anderson, also a First Team All-SCAC selection, ranked third and fourth in the conference with 7.0 and 6.5 sacks, respectively.

Also the special teams coach from 2006-08, Pelch helped Millsaps grab back-to-back-to-back Special Teams Players of the Year in return specialists Chris Jackson, John Milazzo and Michael Galatas. Jackson averaged 15.5 yards per punt return in 2006, good enough for fourth in the country.

In the kicking game, the Majors ranked eighth in the country in punt return defense in 2007, surrendering just 4.05 yards per return. The average rose to 8.16 yards a return last season, still among the Top 100 in all of Division III. Will Lawrimore led the SCAC in punting average (39.5 ypp) in 2008 and found his name on the list of First Teamers.

From RaiderBeat.com

Free-agent linebacker Kevin Burnett is getting antsy about settling in with a new team. He’s so eager to find out who he will play for this season that he has instructed his agent to finalize a deal as soon as today.
Burnett has visited the Raiders and San Diego Chargers. His agent, Ricky Lefft, confirmed to the Dallas Morning News what RaiderBeat.com reported first, that Burnett has an offer standing from the Raiders.
Burnett, 26, started two games for the Dallas Cowboys in 2008 and ‘07. He is a four-year veteran who is hopeful of landing a starting job somewhere. The Raiders have an opening at the strong-side spot occupied by Ricky Brown, Jon Alston, Sam Williams and Robert Thomas last season.
Brown and Alston were tendered one-year offers to return to the Raiders. That guarantees them a contract but not a starting job. Burnett could move to the inside and push middle linebacker Kirk Morrison to the strong-side position. Or coach Tom Cable could try Burnett on the strong-side.
Either way, the Raiders remain interested in securing the services of Burnett. A Raiders official said Tuesday morning that it’s in Burnett’s hands now. He knows the offer, knows how the Raiders intend to use him and what Cable thinks of him.

Pace is old and damaged goods, Smith is also a little damaged, but his pre tag should be a little more reasonable.

According to FoxSports.com

The Philadelphia Eagles have signed free agent S Rashad Baker to a one-year contract, the team announced on Wednesday.

A product of Woodrow Wilson High School in Camden, NJ, the 27-year-old Baker joins the Eagles after a two-year stint with the Oakland Raiders. In 2008, Baker recorded 24 tackles and a career-high three interceptions for the Raiders. He joined Oakland late in the 2007 season after playing eight games for the New England Patriots that year.

Baker (5-10, 200) originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Buffalo in 2004, posting 53 tackles, two interceptions and one sack in 28 games with the Bills from 2004-05. He played in one game with Minnesota in 2006 before being released and claimed off waivers by the Patriots during that season.

For his career, Baker has played in 52 games (four starts), recording 78 tackles, five interceptions, six passes defensed, and one sack. After a stellar career as a wide receiver and track athlete at Woodrow Wilson HS, Baker went on to become a four-year starter at Tennessee.

With already doubts existing into the the top 10 draft worthiness status of OT Andre Smith, his poor showing at his Pro Day will pretty much knock him out of the top 10. This means the Raiders will more than likely not draft an offensive tackle with their #7 pick as the Monroe and J. Smith will certainly be gone.

From NFL.com:

Andre Smith, one of the top offensive tackle prospects in this year’s draft, said he was relying on Alabama’s pro day to make up for the disappearing act he put on at the combine. Well, his times were not overly impressive, but he did at least work out.

Smith measured in at 6-foot-4 ¼, 325 pounds and ran the 40-yard dash in 5.28 and 5.33 seconds. He had a 25-inch vertical, a 7-foot, 10-inch broad jump, a 7.88-second three-cone drill and 19 bench press reps at 225 pounds. His short shuttle time is still to come as are the times from his Alabama teammates.

To put Smith’s workout in perspective, he did not post a single number that would have placed him in the top performers at his position at the combine and many of his numbers were not even close to the top 10 at his position at the combine.

According to our league source, Smith ran with no shirt on and was visibly overweight. With a group of trainers urging him on to run faster, Smith had a generally rough day.

You sure we signed Frye? He is listed as a FA everywhere.

Are very quiet in this FA period. I wish they could grab more role players.

Must have learned a lesson from last season and thats why he isn’t singing alot of people and on top of that i don’t think that there is alot of FA that are good.

Free agent offensive tackle Khalif Barnes is reportedly talking to the Raiders again.

Barnes was rumored to be close to a deal with Oakland last week, but Al Davis reportedly got cold feet, so Barnes continued on to Tampa for a visit.

In case you haven’t heard yet, the Raiders agreed to terms with offensive tackle Khalif Barnes on a one-year contract.

If you’re talking to me, yes, I’m sure.

You might like this in your post.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/raiders/detail?entry_id=36771

Multiple Raiders officials are saying that Michael Bush is no longer on the trading block.

Bush is expected to be part of the Raiders’ “three-helmeted rushing attack” next season, so it looks like the fullback experiment has been scrapped for good.

personaly i wanted to trade him for more draft picks or another player but all he showed me was a long touchdown run to me thats not enogh to stay with us he wasen’t able to knock it out when the score was 24 -28 which would have made it 24-35 but we setteled for a feild goal and gave the Bucs a little hope . and i know that he didn’t get alot of chances but him being consistance at it i don’t see it happening

From SFGate.com:

I love this! Special teams is now complete, we really needed Justin Miller.

Raiders re-sign Miller, and others

It seems the Raiders have been busier in free agency than they care to say.

With no fanfare, with fanfare meaning any sort of announcement, the Raiders re-signed former Pro Bowl kick returner Justin Miller to a two-year contract. Like, um, more than a week ago.

“They must not have out it out there yet, I guess,” Miller said as he arrived at team headquarters Monday for the first day of offseason workouts.

But, wait there’s more.

Free agent defensive tackle William Joseph apparently isn’t a free agent anymore. He, too, showed up for work Monday after signing an undiclosed deal recently.

As for the class of restricted free agents, strongside linebacker Ricky Brown signed his $1.545 million tender sheet Thursday and reported for duty. Special teams players Jon Alston and Jon Condo also signed their own $1.01 million tenders, locking them in for one more year of service.

Miller’s signing should be considered a boon. A Pro Bowler as a rookie in 2006, he joined the Raiders midway through last season and immediately made a splash with two touchdown returns in seven games.

He averaged 24.8 yards on 32 returns while allowing Johnnie Lee Higgins to focus on punt returns after struggling with ball security on kicks. Miller visited with the Titans on March 4 before signing with the Raiders, who claimed him off waivers in November when the Jets cut him.

Rookie safety Tyvon Branch won the kick return job in training camp but was sidelined by hand and shoulder injuries. Miller and Branch will likely compete for the kick return job in camp.

being an avid Dallas Cowboys fan who grew up a stone’s throw from the coliseum (not the one in L.A.), I am impressed at the knowledge, insight and general demeanor of the fans on this site.

Well done.

What’s the general take on him?

Is this a defining moment kind of year or is there a long leash coming from Cable for him to grow into the position?

This kid is getting so much money and has so much talent. On top of that he hasn’t had too much of a chance in the dysfunction that has been the Raiders in his two years. He’s got a great attitude and all recent reports speek of his escalading work ethic. He also leads an offense that is currently “run first”, with three backs that could make things happen on any play. With all that said the managment loves him, the team respects him, the coaches like him, and the fans give him 110% support.
Let me know if I missed anything guys.

And 5Blings, thanks for the kind words and the intrest in general.
By the way… I love the signature quote.

Per Rotoworld, Otis signed with the Rams.

Per Raiders Transactions page. Hehe, they finally got around to posting all of these.

Per David White at SFGate, the Raiders remain in contact with C/G Duke Preston. I’m hoping the Raiders will sign him sometime this week.

The Rams signed quarterback Jeff Otis, formerly of the Raiders.

The Raiders just signed James Horton

Veiry NICE!!!
the signed barnes
quietly resigned miller too
i was waiting to hear the news :D

Why not go after Tank Johnson. The Raiders are always substituting DT’s in and out and I think it is ideal to go get another DT, specially one as good as Tank. He is still available in the FA pool, and should come at a reasonable price. From what I hear, The Cowboys are unlikely to bring him back so we should at least make an attempt at him. He is an above average run stuffer and can be a better choice than grabbing someone in the draft. I’m not referring to Raji because he is the too good and has too much potential. But, he is better than the rest and fairly young. He compliments Kelly well since both play with their frame and aggression. He is similar to the guys we already have, but he is a little better.

The Raiders have addressed their need at center by trading an undisclosed draft pick to Miami for C Samson Satele.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/962983.html

We can take center off our draft list. I like the guy he started 32 games and the Doliphins
thought that he can’t play well against bigger men i like that beacuse this should modivate him and make him work harder and prove everyone wrong don’t be surprised if he turns out to be Great.

The trade was first reported by the Miami Herald and confirmed Monday morning by representatives for both players. Miami will receive a sixth-round pick from Oakland and the two sides will swap selections in an undisclosed round, a source close to the situation told ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson.