Raiders Discussing Gabe Jackson Trade
The Raiders’ offensive line situation is a bit chaotic right now. Yesterday it was reported that center Rodney Hudson was getting cut, but this afternoon we heard they were trying to trade him and he was quickly dealt to the Cardinals for a third-rounder.
Now they’re trying to pull the same trick with guard Gabe Jackson, who we heard was going to be cut all the way back on March 3rd. Las Vegas is having trade discussions about Jackson now too, sources told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Jackson won’t be as easy to trade as Hudson was, and they won’t be getting a third-round pick back, but it sounds like there is legitimate interest.
Jackson has two years left on the five-year, $56MM extension he signed with the Raiders in 2017. A third-round pick in 2014, Jackson has spent all seven of his pro seasons with the Raiders. He’s been a full-time starter since his rookie year, and has only missed more than three games once, in 2019 when he missed five.
Jackson has always been a solid but not spectacular starter, but Jon Gruden felt he could no longer justify the double digit million AAV of his contract. They shopped him around this time last year, but nothing got done and he started all 16 games for Gruden in 2020.
Raiders Trade C Rodney Hudson To Cardinals
The Raiders found a taker for Rodney Hudson. A day after the Pro Bowl center surfaced as a cap casualty, the Raiders sought to trade him. The Cardinals will acquire the veteran snapper.
Hudson will be shipped to Arizona in a pick-swap deal, per Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). This will represent a significant upgrade at the center spot for the Cardinals while giving the Raiders something in return for a player they appeared prepared to cut. The Cards announced the move.
Instead of releasing Hudson, the Raiders are set to receive a Day 2 pick in a trade. The Cardinals will send a third-round pick for Hudson and a seventh-rounder, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Cards were rumored to be targeting centers. They will now acquire one of the best in the business.
Initially a 2015 signee, Hudson broke out with the Raiders. The former Chiefs third-round pick has made the Pro Bowl three times and paved the way for three 1,000-yard rushing seasons while with the Raiders. He operated as the centerpiece of one of the NFL’s better offensive lines. He will now join the likes of D.J. Humphries and Justin Pugh in Arizona; the Cards also brought back right tackle Kelvin Beachum on Wednesday.
Pro Football Focus graded Hudson as its No. 8 overall center last season; Cardinals primary snapper Mason Cole came in at 31st. The 2021 season will be Hudson’s age-32 campaign.
The 10-year veteran will remain attached to the extension the Raiders signed him to in 2019; that deal runs through 2022. Las Vegas will be tagged with some dead money, upwards of $7MM, but a trade will be an obviously preferable scenario on the financial and compensation front for the Silver and Black. That said, the Raiders will have some big shoes to fill at this position.
Raiders Expected To Re-Sign WR Zay Jones
Acquired nearly two years ago via in-season trade, Zay Jones will stay with the Raiders. The former second-round pick will stay in Las Vegas on a one-year deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
With Nelson Agholor impressing on a low-end contract last season, Jones did not have much of a role on offense. The ex-Bills draftee caught just 14 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown. This came after a 20-reception, 147-yard debut slate in Oakland two seasons ago. But Jones will be back to team with the likes of Hunter Renfrow and 2020 draft picks Henry Ruggs and Bryan Edwards.
John Brown‘s arrival, however, figures to relegate Jones to largely a special teams role. Brown’s Bills signing in 2019 helped lead Jones to Oakland, with Buffalo shipping the former starter west early in the 2019 season. The East Carolina product caught 56 passes for 652 yards and seven touchdowns during Josh Allen‘s 2018 debut season but has been quiet on the receiving front since.
Agholor agreed to terms with the Patriots on the first day of free agency, but Jones’ return along with his three younger receiver mates will bring the most continuity to this group since Jon Gruden returned to the Raiders. The team has shuffled up its aerial corps consistently during Gruden’s tenure. As of now, the Raiders look to feature a familiar receiving crew next season.
Raiders To Re-Sign Denzelle Good
The Raiders are the busiest team so far on Wednesday move. They’re re-signing another one of their own guys, this time locking up offensive lineman Denzelle Good, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets.
It’s a two-year deal for Good, Fowler reports. The deal is worth $8.36MM, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Good will see $3.19MM in guarantees.
Good signed a one-year deal with the Raiders for $1.7MM in 2019. Then he signed a one-year deal for $2.3MM last offseason. After becoming essentially a full-time starter for Las Vegas this past year, he finally gets the multi-year deal. A seventh-round pick of the Colts in 2015, Good spent his first three-plus seasons in Indy.
He started at least a handful of games each season, but was cut by the Colts late in 2018 and promptly claimed off waivers by the Raiders. He started five games in 2019, but started 14 this past year after Richie Incognito missed most of the season. Las Vegas has done a ton of shuffling to their offensive line this month. Of the Raiders’ Week 1 starting O-line from last season, only Kolton Miller remains with the team
Las Vegas has already cut guards Gabe Jackson and Richie Incognito and traded tackle Trent Brown to New England. Incognito is apparently still a candidate to return, but it sounds like the team views Good as one of their starters for 2021.
Raiders Looking To Trade Rodney Hudson
Yesterday, we heard the Raiders were cutting Pro Bowl center Rodney Hudson. Not so fast. Las Vegas is actually try to move Hudson via trade first, a source told Josina Anderson (Twitter link).
In a follow-up tweet, Anderson notes that there are talks of a trade involving a “second day pick.” A Day 2 pick would be a pretty nice haul for a player they were about to cut. This has been a trend in the NFL recently, for reports to leak that a player was getting cut only for the team to try to trade him at the last minute, sometimes successfully sometimes not. It was reported the Saints were going to cut defensive tackle Malcom Brown, and then they traded him to the Jags yesterday.
The Dolphins were set to cut Kyle Van Noy, then tried to trade him, only to ultimately release him after finding no takers. Whether Hudson is traded or released, it still represents a dramatic overhaul of the Raiders’ offensive line. This move follows Las Vegas’ cuts of Gabe Jackson and Richie Incognito and its trade of Trent Brown to New England.
Hudson, 31, graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 8 overall center last season. The Raiders signed him to a three-year, $33.75MM extension in 2019. In six seasons with the team, he’s missed only four total games.
The Florida State product and former Kansas City Chief has made the Pro Bowl in three of the last five seasons and was a second-team All-Pro in 2019.
Raiders To Sign John Brown
John Brown is going to Las Vegas. On Wednesday, the wide receiver agreed to a one-year, $3.75MM deal with the Raiders, as Adam Caplan of SiriusXM tweets. 
Brown will help replace Nelson Agholor, who inked a surprisingly lucrative deal with the Patriots. The Raiders are also down Tyrell Williams, who was cut early on in the offseason. Brown will come into camp as a supporting member of the new-look group, which includes Henry Ruggs, Hunter Renfrow, and Bryan Edwards.
In 2019, Brown’s first season with the Bills, he managed new career highs of 72 catches for 1,060 receiving yards. Last year, he was limited just nine games and finished with a 33/458/3 stat line. The Bills went on to release him, saving nearly $8MM against the 2021 salary cap.
Raiders To Re-Sign LB Nicholas Morrow
Nicholas Morrow is re-signing with the Raiders after all. Alex Marvez of SiriusXM reports (via Twitter) that the linebacker is re-signing with Las Vegas. His one-year deal is worth $5MM with $4.5MM fully guaranteed, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter).
We heard earlier this month that the two sides were working towards a new pact, but we hadn’t received any updates since that time. The 25-year-old defender had his best professional season in 2020, starting a career-high 11 games. Morrow also established benchmarks in tackles (78), tackles for loss (eight) and sacks (three). Pro Football Focus rated him as a top-30 off-ball ‘backer in 2020.
The Raiders have been busy adding to their linebackers corps this week, agreeing to terms on a two-year deal with Yannick Ngakoue. As our Sam Robinson previously detailed, the Raiders are also only a year removed from having spent big at the linebacker position; the organization signed Cory Littleton to a lucrative deal and gave Nick Kwiatkoski a respectable pact as well. The team has since reworked both Littleton’s and Kwiatkoski’s deals.
Considering Morrow’s career year, the Raiders surely didn’t secure his services for a song. This means the organization is committing even more money at the position, which will probably take them out of the running for a linebacker in the first round (as Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune tweets).
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/16/21
Tomorrow is the deadline for NFL teams to extend tender offers to their own restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents. We’ll keep tabs on the latest here:
RFAs
Tendered:
- Chiefs: G Andrew Wylie
- Colts: S George Odum
- Cowboys: DT Antwaun Woods
- Dolphins: OL Adam Pankey
- Packers: CB Chandon Sullivan, TE Robert Tonyan (second-round tender)
- Raiders: K Daniel Carlson (second-round tender)
- Texans: DT P.J. Hall, CB A.J. Moore
Non-Tendered:
- Packers: DL Tyler Lancaster
- Seahawks: LB Shaquem Griffin
- Vikings: RB Mike Boone, DL Ifeadi Odenigbo
Raiders To Release C Rodney Hudson
A near-full-on overhaul is taking place on the Raiders’ offensive line. They are releasing Pro Bowl center Rodney Hudson on Tuesday, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter).
This move follows Las Vegas’ cuts of Gabe Jackson and Richie Incognito and its trade of Trent Brown to New England. A Hudson release, if not designated as a post-June 1 cut, would not save the Raiders any money. It would then make sense if Las Vegas designated its longtime center a post-June 1 release.
Of the slew of moves on the Raiders’ O-line, this one qualifies as the most surprising. A 2015 Oakland signee, Hudson has made three Pro Bowls as a Raider and has become one of the NFL’s top centers. They signed him to a three-year, $33.75MM extension in 2019. The former Chiefs third-round pick figures to generate immediate interest, having proven productive and durable. Hudson has missed just four games in six Raiders seasons.
Hudson, 31, graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 8 overall center last season. He led the way in Josh Jacobs‘ back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and has been with the franchise long enough to pave the way for Latavius Murray‘s 1,000-yard slate in 2015. He lasted less than two weeks as the Raiders’ longest-tenured offensive linemen, following Jackson out the door.
Of the Raiders’ Week 1 starting O-line from last season, only Kolton Miller remains with the team. This release also effectively makes Derek Carr the last man standing from Reggie McKenzie‘s GM tenure.
The Raiders tacking on two void years to Hudson’s extension would increase the dead-money hit to $15MM, were Hudson not designated a post-June 1 release. The latter scenario would save the Raiders $6.4MM against their 2021 cap. Thus far, the Raiders have not replaced any of their departed starters up front. Even the player who replaced Incognito for most of last season, Denzelle Good, is a free agent. This certainly becomes one of the NFL’s most interesting position groups.
Raiders To Sign Yannick Ngakoue
The Raiders have struck a deal with Yannick Ngakoue. The former Ravens linebacker will head to Las Vegas a two-year, $26MM deal, as ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. 
Jon Gruden has been eyeing Ngakoue since his Jaguars days. The Vikings and Ravens got him first, but Gruden now has his man. The deal will reunite Ngakoue with defensive coordinator Gus Bradley as the Raiders look to rekindle their pass rush. Ever since the Khalil Mack trade three years ago, they’ve struggled to generate consistent pressure.
Ngakoue, who turns 26 later this month, is set to enter his sixth season as a pro. With 45.5 career sacks to his credit, he’s a difference-maker — even if the Ravens didn’t use him all that much in the playoffs.
Ngakoue projects to lead a Raiders edge group that also features Maxx Crosby and Clelin Ferrell. Ferrell hasn’t lived up to Gruden’s expectations since he was drafted (and, arguably, reached for), but Ngakoue can help cover his deficiencies.
Ngakoue is not particularly strong against the run, but he averaged over nine sacks per season over his first four years in the league, and he has also shown some serious play-making ability. He forced 14 fumbles in that stretch and he directly responsible for five of the 12 defensive touchdowns the Jaguars scored between 2016 and 2019.