Reggie McKenzie is still working to get his full crop of draft picks signed from the 2015 NFL Draft, but he can chalk another one up as a done deal. Florida LB Neiron Ball, one of two 5th round selections, has officially inked his 4-year contract with the Oakland Raiders.
Neiron ball is the 7th draft pick of the Raiders in the 2015 draft to sign his deal. He follows WR Amari Cooper (first round), G/C Jon Feliciano (4th round), LB Ben Heeney (5th round), DE Max Valles (6th round), T Anthony Morris (7th round), and WR Andre Debose (7th round).
Neiron Ball was the 161st selection of the draft and his 2015 base salary as $486,331. The contract is a 4-year deal expected to be worth a total of $2.48 million according to figures put out by spotrac.com.
At Florida the 6-2, 236 pound outside linebacker had a rough go of things thanks to health problems including a hereditary brain injury that kept him out for an entire season. He finished his career at Florida starting 16-of-45 games over his 4 year career and totaled 94 tackles (37 solo) with 3 sacks, 1 interception, 4 passes defensed, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries.
Though he wasn't able to be much of a contributor at Florida, he was a leader for the team with his strength and will power to battle through tough times. He will be depth at the outside linebacker position for the Raiders and is expected to be a contributor on special teams right away. He is the type of athlete that can make his presence felt even if he has limited opportunities and has a lot of heart overcoming illness and the loss of both of his parents at a young age.
After this signing the Raiders have just 3 draft picks remaining unsigned -- DE Mario Edwards Jr (2nd round), TE Clive Walford (3rd round), and S Dexter McDonald (7th round).
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