Today is so awesome. It is like Christmas. Actually, maybe it's more like Christmas Eve because the real action is going to start tomorrow morning. And it is going to come fast and furious. The Oakland Raiders are going to be as busy as a bee buzzing in a cloud of crack smoke as they try to sign unrestricted and restricted free agents, rookie, undrafted rookies and get under the cap.
Despite their aggressiveness in locking up players prior to the lockout they still have a lot of unrestricted free agents. Jump over for the official list and a review of the upcoming timelines for signings etc....
Oakland Raiders Free Agents
| Player | Position | Accrued Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Walker, Langston | OL | 9 |
| Asomugha, Nnamdi | CB | 8 |
| O'Sullivan, J.T. | QB | 8 |
| Williams, Sam | LB | 8 |
| Gallery, Robert | OL | 7 |
| Barnes, Khalif | OL | 6 |
| Frye, Charlie | QB | 6 |
| Huff, Michael | S | 5 |
| Brown, Ricky | LB | 5 |
| Howard, Thomas | LB | 5 |
| Condo, Jon | LB | 4 |
| Gradkowski, Bruce | QB | 4 |
| Henderson, Mario | OL | 4 |
| Higgins, Johnnie Lee | WR | 4 |
| Miller, Zach | TE | 4 |
| Moss, Jarvis | LB | 4 |
| Satele, Samson | OL | 4 |
I pulled that list from ESPN. They have a fabulously accessible team-by-team list if you are interested. And as you noticed, and Saint already pointed out, Michael Bush is not on that list.
I fully expect the Raiders to get Miller locked up quickly. There is not one other player on that list that I am confident saying that about. I am leaning towards the notion that they will bring Langston Walker back. I think Satele is gone. He will want to go someplace where he can be the center. And the Raiders would be better off using that money on a FA guard that has played guard before. I like Moss. I bet he will be back. He should be cheap and he is solid as an end of the rotation D-lineman.
I would also expect Frye to come back. The coaches seem to like him and the Raiders need a third QB. I would love to have Condo back, but every team that wants an upgrade at long snapper will have their eyes on him. The Raiders have paid him well in the past, but they may not have the funds for that this year.
We've already gone over most of this, but let's do it again.
- Teams can sign rookies and UDFAs on Tuesday at 7 a.m. PST
- Teams can start negotiating with free agents Tuesday at 7 a.m. PST
- Teams can't officially sign free agents until Friday
- Teams cannot cut players until Thursday
- All teams must be under the salary cap by August 4th
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For a look at, and links to, all the day's Raider news, and AFC West and NFL highlights, be sure and check out our daily edition of Pirate Booty.Also, check out how the new CBA gave the Raiders salary cap relief.