Silver Mining: Darren Waller’s 2021 contract is now guaranteed

Wednesday provided a nice reminder to the Las Vegas Raiders and their fans about what a great situation they have with Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller.

His 2021 salary became fully guaranteed on Feb. 10 as part of his contract. He will be paid just over $6 million for the upcoming season. Waller signed a four-year, $29 million deal in 2019.

The Raiders are getting great value for Waller, who has become a true elite player at his position. Waller — who the Raiders signed from the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad in 2018 — has a combined 197 catches in the past two seasons. He set a Raiders’ team record with 107 catches in 2020. What a star.

In other Raiders’ links:

• Mail time: The San Jose Mercury News has a Raiders’ mailbag.
• New McShay mock: ESPN’s Todd McShay has a name we’ve seen before, connected to the Raiders at No. 17.
• Not good: A look at the Raiders’ draft value gained in recent years.
• More JuJu talk: Here’s another report connecting Pittsburgh Steelers’ free-agent receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to the Raiders.