Though Raiders owner Mark Davis said on Tuesday that he wants to keep his club in Oakland, a different scenario involving the team’s location has been floated in league circles, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). Per Rapoport, it’s possible that the Raiders could sign a one-year lease to remain in Oakland for the 2016 season, allow the Chargers and Rams situations time to play themselves out, and then be the only team left standing for a possible move to a different city the following year.
Such a delay tactic would allow the Raiders to discuss transitioning to a city like San Antonio or even St. Louis (in the event the Rams relocate), says Rapoport. Davis did indicate that there was no chance he’d move his team to Missouri, but the NFL.com scribe cautions (via Twitter) to not rule out such a move.
Here’s more from the NFL’s two West divisions…
- The Raiders aren’t the only AFC West club in a state of flux, as the Chargers have also been heavily linked to the Los Angeles area. But the team hasn’t been straight about its plans with the city of San Diego or Chargers fans, argues Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
- Suspended Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington still isn’t sure of his status with the NFL, reports Mike Jurecki of Fox Sports 910. Washington, who hasn’t seen the field since 2013, still hasn’t been disciplined for a domestic violence incident, and all told, is expected to be handed a two- to six-game ban, per Jurecki.
- More from Oakland, as Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap analyzes the Raiders in his latest piece for Sporting News, writing that the club is set up to spend heavily in free agency next offseason. Of course, cap space hasn’t been a problem for Oakland during the past few offseasons, but they’ve still had difficulty landing marquee free agents.