For a while I decided to ignore all the rumors and news regarding Nnamdi Asomugha. As I am sure you have noticed I have changed my stance. It's not like there is a ton of football related talk right now, and when it comes to free agency all the buzz starts with Asomugha. Whether you think he is coming back or not I think it is a compelling story and process. And he is still a Raider. So, if you are sick of hearing about Nnam skip these stories, but it is clear that there are plenty of people out there interested. If you are one of those people jump over....
Oh, and for what it is worth, I am doing my part to drive down the price on Nnam. Yesterday I saw on the Battle Red Blog (home for the Texans) they were discussing the importance of signing Nnamdi Asomugha. So, I posted the following message:
You guys may want to pass this on to some folks in the Texans organization, but I have heard from several sources, with no availability to inside information, that Nnamdi has a very real and aggressive form of tybericulous deterioration. While you may not have heard of this tragic ailment let me assure you that it is not good. I don’t see why any team would want to sign him.
Oh, and he caught it from Michael Huff.
And with that we move onto the news at hand. Free agency is on a buyers freeze. Owners can't schmooze players with private flights and extravagant welcome parties. Coaches can't talk strategy or roles. Well, I should say they aren't supposed to—I'd be shocked if some of this wasn't going on behind the scenes. But what can go on unabashedly is players reaching out to other players.
This fact was not lost on 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia. They recently had Eagles receiver, DeSean Jackson. And they managed to work the conversation to our very own, Nnamdi Asomugha. Tim McManus of The Philadelphia Sports Daily had some of the highlights:
"I’m going to try and see what I can do; when I leave here I’m going to make a call," said Jackson, when egged on by the hosts. "During the Pro Bowl I was actually telling him, ‘Come on man, you know we need you over here.’ So I definitely wouldn’t mind calling him."
I think we all know Nnam is going to have plenty of options. Jackson does bring up an interesting point though. Despite Nnam being the most sought after free agent on the market he is likely going to have to take a pay cut.
The money he’s making is crazy. Hopefully he can take a pay cut and come to the Eagles
Of course, the bigger the pay cut Nnam faces the better his chances of returning to the Raiders. Whenever free agency does start it is going to be interesting to watch the bidding war. As for the present, I would love to find some information on players some Raiders may be trying charm towards the Raiders.
I am sure the Raiders coaches have free agent targets in mind, and I am also sure they scoured their own roster for possible connections. Richard Seymour and Matt Light maybe, or Jason Campbell and Redskin guard Derrick Dockery? I have no idea. Those are just two connections that came to mind. Can you guys think of any other Raider connections to free agents from their pro or college days that would make sense?