Perry Riley Jr is still a free agent and Bruce Irvin is still calling for Raiders to bring him back

The mere fact that Perry Riley Jr has not been signed by a team this offseason is a bit strange. He had a resurgent season with the Raiders in 2016 after he was signed following week four and inserted as the starter for the remaining 11 games of the season and the team’s Wild Card playoff game.

Riley had spent the first six seasons of his career in Washington and was available mainly because he had been injured. Once the Raiders realized Ben Heeney and Cory James weren’t the answer, and Riley was a now healthy free agent option, he got the call.

In Oakland, Riley re-united with childhood friend, Bruce Irvin — who had signed with the team in the offseason — making for a great situation for both players.

Not re-signing him seemed a bit odd considering the otherwise shaky situation the Raiders have at the middle linebacker position. When they didn’t bring him back, it would have seemed like another team would have signed him, perhaps even early in free agency. But no.

So, a free agent he remains.

Once again the Raiders have not put a high priority on the position, even waiting until round five to select Marquel Lee. So, it still seems like it would make sense to bring Riley back into the fold.

Irvin has made his opinion clear about his desire to be re-reunited with Riley. Back in late April and now again today.

There has been no word on exactly what the holdup is between Riley and the Raiders or any other team. Currently the Raiders are at their 90-man roster capacity, so we know they’re not holding a spot for him. But as long as he remains a free agent, the possibility he could return remains.