Source: Carl Steward, InsideBayArea.com [ Full Article ]
A lot of fans out there right now are both mystified and mortified that the Oakland Raiders haven't yet done anything in the NFL free-agent shopping spree.
From the vantage of this checkout counter, though, we're applauding the fact that the Raiders haven't done something stupid ... like so many other NFL teams have the past week.
As much as they may need an influx of offensive talent, the Raiders have wisely backed off in a weak, wacky market. Teams are paying exorbitant sums for average players or players clearly on the downside of their careers.
For sure, there have been players available who could have helped Oakland still are, in fact but not at the prices they have been commanding.
Are the Houston Texans kidding with that Ahman Green signing? Green is a 30-year-old running back who is nowhere close to what he once was. Yet he received a four-year, $23 million deal that includes $6.5 million in guaranteed money. Green might have been an interesting alternative to LaMont Jordan, but at that cost? The Raiders are better off sticking with Jordan, and it appears that will happen in 2007.
Travis Henry, another back on the Raiders' speculative shopping list, signed with Denver on Monday. He's getting a five-year deal that will give him $18 million in guarantees. Henry is a strong runner, but he can't catch he had just 78 yards worth of receptions last year. That's too much for a one-dimensional player, especially one who served a four-game suspension last year for a substance-abuse violation. Again, Jordan is the better bet.
Offensive lineman Leonard Davis is another laughable one. Once a No.2 pick in the entire 2001 draft, Davis spent six years in Arizona underachieving for a team that never won. Yet the Cowboys awarded him with a seven-year, $49.6 contract that includes $18.7 million in guaranteed money ... and from the early reports out of Dallas, he's not even going to play left tackle.
At the right price, Davis might have fit the Raiders' needs. But those dollar numbers didn't even allow Oakland to get into the competition, and they're probably better off for it. Underachievers usually don't change.
Former Patriots tight end Daniel Graham is another player who might look good in the Raiders uniform. He can block and catch. But we're not talking Antonio Gates here. Graham had just 21 catches a year ago, yet he will likely land a contract offer from Seattle or Denver with which the Raiders can't or won't try to top.
Maybe the epitome of ludicrous signings is the five-year, $25 million contract Buffalo gave former Raiders right tackle Langston Walker, who will get upwards of $10 million of that contract guaranteed. Walker's biggest contribution in his tenure with the Raiders was blocking a Jason Elam field goal try that preserved a win at Denver a few years ago. Beyond that he was soft, ineffective and injury-prone.
The one legitimate loss the Raiders have had on the market was the guy they pushed hardest to get quarterback Jeff Garcia. But even Garcia was overpriced. He had a good team surrounding him in Philadelphia. That won't be the case in Tampa Bay and wouldn't have been the case in Oakland.
Garcia would have been another short-term transition guy to the young quarterback the Raiders ultimately wind up drafting, and he may have been more attractive simply based on the dearth of available arms. One free-agent quarterback list I saw had Garcia rated first and Damon Huard, who has re-signed with Kansas City, second. Third and fourth? A couple of guys named Aaron Brooks and Kerry Collins. Aaagh. Might as well stick with Andrew Walter in that kind of market.
The fact of the matter is that signing a couple of free agents at big prices right now is not likely to make an appreciable improvement in the Raiders. We can all agree they aren't going to the Super Bowl next year. Playoffs are a huge reach, and a .500 season probably would be cause for a parade.
Oakland can achieve more by letting this new coaching staff under Lane Kiffin go to work with the existing roster and see what improvements can be made with it. Considering this year's market, the team also might be wise to protect some of its in-house investments with improved contracts for players they want to keep long-term. The Raiders have already upgraded defensive tackle Terdell Sands and restructured wide receiver Ronald Curry. Guys such as Nnamdi Asomugha and Kirk Morrison merit consideration for better deals.
Beyond that, the real future is through the draft and trades, not free agency. Get anything possible for Randy Moss. Make a run at Aaron Rodgers, a quarterback who would surely love to come back home. See what's available come June 1, when a number of teams make veteran cuts.
And, more important than anything else, make sure you get it right on draft day. There's no reason to think the Raiders can't get the players they need at a better price than any of the free agents signed so far.
Raiders Wise To Avoid This Bunch 
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