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This Date In Transactions History: Raiders Fire Jack Del Rio

By | at December 31, 2021 8:24 pm

Four years ago today, the Raiders fired head coach Jack Del Rio. The decision came shortly after a lopsided loss to the Chargers in the season finale, capping the Raiders’ season at 6-10.

[RELATED: Latest On Raiders, Mike Mayock]

“[Raiders owner] Mark Davis told me he loved me and appreciated all that I did to get this program going to right direction,” said Del Rio. “But, [he also] that he felt he needed a change.”

Davis hired Del Rio in 2015 and saw the team improve from 3-13 to 7-9. That Raiders team didn’t necessarily set the world on fire, but they were at least in the playoff hunt, up until a Week 15 loss to the Packers. In 2016, it appeared that the Raiders were on the right track. With Del Rio at the helm and Derek Carr under center, the Raiders finished 12-4 to earn their first playoff spot since 2002.

Unfortunately, Carr didn’t make it to the postseason after suffering a broken fibula in Week 16. Then, when Matt McGloin suffered a shoulder injury the following week, rookie Connor Cook was thrust into action. Oakland’s long-awaited playoff appearance ended abruptly with a loss to the Texans. Had Carr been on the field, it’s possible that things could have gone differently for the Raiders and JDR.

So, after a cumulative 25-23 record, the Raiders dismissed Del Rio and immediately set their sights on Jon Gruden. Del Rio, meanwhile, spent the next few years away from football, up until 2020 when he became Washington’s defensive coordinator.

When Del Rio crossed paths with his old team a few weeks back, he had an opportunity to mend fences with Carr. Previously, Del Rio had some unflattering things to say about Carr’s ability to perform in cold weather. Fortunately, with 2021 drawing to a close, they were able to bury the hatchet.

“I talked to him afterward,” Carr said. “We had a good talk, obviously I wish it was better for me, but we just expressed our love for one another and how thankful we were for the times that we had.”

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NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 12/31/21

By | at December 31, 2021 4:40 pm

Here are the New Year’s Eve additions and subtractions from teams’ reserve/COVID-19 lists:

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

  • Activated from practice squad virus list: T Drew Himmelman, LB Barrington Wade

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

0 comments Atlanta Falcons COVID-19 Carolina Panthers Dallas Cowboys Green Bay Packers Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts Jacksonville Jaguars Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Chargers Miami Dolphins Minnesota Vikings New Orleans Saints Philadelphia Eagles Pittsburgh Steelers Seattle Seahawks Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tennessee Titans Transactions Washington Commanders

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/30/21

By | at December 30, 2021 4:23 pm

Today’s taxi squad moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

  • Signed: OL Nico Falah and OL Brett Heggie

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tennessee Titans

  • Signed: OL Paul Adams and DB Shyheim Carter
0 comments Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills Cincinnati Bengals Cleveland Browns Green Bay Packers Las Vegas Raiders New Orleans Saints New York Giants New York Jets Pittsburgh Steelers Tennessee Titans Transactions

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 12/30/21

By | at December 30, 2021 3:32 pm

Here are Thursday’s reserve/COVID-19 list updates:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

  • Activated from virus list: OL Cody Ford, CB Cam Lewis
  • Activated from practice squad virus list: TE Quintin Morris

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

  • Placed on practice squad virus list: LB Omari Cobb

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

1 comment Arizona Cardinals Atlanta Falcons Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills COVID-19 Carolina Panthers Cincinnati Bengals Cleveland Browns Dallas Cowboys Denver Broncos Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts Jacksonville Jaguars Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Chargers Los Angeles Rams Minnesota Vikings New England Patriots New Orleans Saints New York Giants New York Jets Philadelphia Eagles Pittsburgh Steelers Seattle Seahawks Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tennessee Titans Transactions Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/29/21

By | at December 29, 2021 5:56 pm

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Designated for return: OG Xavier Su’a-Filo

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

1 comment Arizona Cardinals Atlanta Falcons Chicago Bears Cincinnati Bengals Dallas Cowboys Green Bay Packers Houston Texans Jacksonville Jaguars Kansas City Chiefs Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Chargers Miami Dolphins Minnesota Vikings New England Patriots New York Giants New York Jets Transactions

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/29/21

By | at December 29, 2021 4:30 pm

Today’s taxi squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: WR Tyler Vaunghns

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

1 comment Arizona Cardinals Atlanta Falcons Carolina Panthers Cleveland Browns Dallas Cowboys Green Bay Packers Houston Texans Jacksonville Jaguars Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Rams New York Giants New York Jets Pittsburgh Steelers San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks Tennessee Titans Transactions

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 12/29/21

By | at December 29, 2021 3:19 pm

Several key players returned to practice Wednesday. Here are the latest COVID-19 updates from around the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Activated from practice squad/COVID-19 list: WR Rico Bussey

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

1 comment Arizona Cardinals Atlanta Falcons Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills COVID-19 Carolina Panthers Cincinnati Bengals Cleveland Browns Dallas Cowboys Denver Broncos Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts Jacksonville Jaguars Kansas City Chiefs Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Chargers Los Angeles Rams Miami Dolphins Minnesota Vikings New England Patriots New Orleans Saints New York Giants New York Jets Philadelphia Eagles Pittsburgh Steelers Seattle Seahawks Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tennessee Titans Transactions Washington Commanders

Raiders Place Darren Waller On Reserve/COVID-19 List

By | at December 29, 2021 2:47 pm

Darren Waller has not yet returned from the injury he suffered on Thanksgiving, but interim HC Rich Bisaccia said the Pro Bowl tight end was close. A Waller re-emergence may have to wait another week.

The Raiders are placing Waller on the reserve/COVID-19 list, Anthony Galaviz of the Fresno Bee tweets. Despite the NFL changing its coronavirus protocols again Tuesday, this transaction points to Waller missing another game.

Players can return after five days, regardless of vaccination status, if they are asymptomatic. Waller is vaccinated, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore (on Twitter). Vaccinated NFLers who test positive can come back sooner, but that has been a high hurdle for most this season. Coupled with Waller’s IT band injury, his odds of playing against the Colts on Sunday are slim.

Waller has missed Las Vegas’ past four games. The IT band injury has caused pain in Waller’s upper leg during his rehab, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes. This has slowed his return. The Raiders never placed Waller on IR, indicating they hoped he could come back within three weeks. Instead, he is looking at a likely five-game absence.

While the team has rallied over the past two weeks to move to 8-7, aerial success has not come easy. Waller has 53 catches for 643 yards and two touchdowns this season.

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Latest On Raiders, Mike Mayock

By | at December 29, 2021 2:03 pm

Brought in by Jon Gruden, Mike Mayock has been the Raiders’ top decision-maker since Gruden’s October ouster. While the Raiders may want to start fresh in 2022, Mayock is still in the mix to be part of the equation.

Some optimism exists in the Raiders’ building Mayock will be given a genuine chance to stick as GM, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes (ESPN+ link). This is Mayock’s third year with the Raiders, who hired him on New Year’s Eve 2018 to replace Reggie McKenzie as GM.

While Mayock undoubtedly had significant say during Gruden’s time, the latter made the final calls. Key personnel misfires — from Antonio Brown to Trent Brown to Lamarcus Joyner — preceded the team cutting both its 2020 first-round picks (Henry Ruggs and Damon Arnette) this year. The Gruden-Mayock duo’s initial draft pick, Clelin Ferrell, has not come close to meeting expectations, either.

The team has also gone 23-24 during Mayock’s tenure, though this year’s squad persevering en route to an 8-7 mark is somewhat surprising given the setbacks that have taken place. FiveThirtyEight.com gives the Raiders a 16% chance to qualify for the playoffs, which would be the franchise’s first berth since the McKenzie-Jack Del Rio regime’s 2016 advancement.

Although some outside the Raiders expect them to go forward with a full-scale change, Fowler adds Mark Davis has not made a decision on Mayock yet. The two have maintained a good relationship amid turmoil as well. Davis keeping Gruden’s right-hand man around would certainly be interesting, but the door appears open for the longtime analyst to stay in his current role.

20 comments Las Vegas Raiders

NFL Legend John Madden Passes Away

By | at December 28, 2021 6:17 pm

Sad news to pass along, as NFL legend John Madden passed away unexpectedly this morning at the age of 85.

Madden is one of the most iconic NFL personalities of all time, evolving from Hall of Fame head coach to famed broadcaster. Madden’s NFL career started in 1958, when he had a brief offseason stint with the Eagles before injuring his knee. He then turned his focus to the sideline, serving as head coach at Allan Hancock and San Diego State. He got his first crack at an NFL coaching gig when he was hired as the Raiders linebackers coach in 1967, and he was promoted to head coach following John Rauch’s resignation in 1969.

Madden spent a decade in that role, helping guide the Raiders to eight postseason appearances. Oakland made it to four AFC Championship games between in 1970 and 1975, but the team finally broke through when they won Super Bowl XI in 1976. Madden announced his retirement only two seasons later, but despite his (relatively) short stint as an NFL head coach, he still managed to put together an illustrious resume. During his final season at the helm, he became the youngest coach to reach 100 career regular-season victories. He ranks second in NFL history in overall winning percentage (regular season and playoffs), and he never had a losing season during his 10 years in the role.

Following his coaching career, Madden transitioned to television, and he spent almost three decades serving as a color analyst for all four major TV networks. Madden was also known for lending his likeness and name to the Madden NFL video game series, which has generated billions dollars worth of sales since debuting in 1988.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero passed along a statement from the NFL:

“On behalf of the entire NFL family, we extend our condolences to Virginia, Mike, Joe and their families,” said commissioner Roger Goodell. “We all know him as the Hall of Fame coach of the Oakland Raiders and broadcaster who worked for every major network, but more than anything, he was a devoted husband, father and grandfather.

“Nobody loved football more than Coach. He was football. He was an incredible sounding board to me and so many others. There will never be another John Madden, and we will forever be indebted to him for all he did to make football and the NFL what it is today.”

We here at PFR would like to extend our condolences to Madden’s family, friends, and colleagues.

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