Raiders To Sign DL Quinton Jefferson
6:08pm: The Raiders moved fast here. They agreed to terms with Jefferson, according to the team. The former Seahawk will be set to play in a familiar system in his sixth NFL season.
Jefferson’s deal is similar to Hankins’, with Caplan noting it is a one-year pact worth $3.25MM (Twitter link). Jefferson can earn up to $4MM in 2021.
3:39pm: Raider Day continues. The team reached out to recent Bills cap casualty Quinton Jefferson and will bring him in for a visit, Adam Caplan of Sirius XM Radio tweets.
The Raiders will host the former Bills and Seahawks defensive lineman later this week, with Caplan adding Jefferson’s experience in new DC Gus Bradley‘s scheme is a factor in the Raiders’ interest. The Bills cut Jefferson after one season.
With Seattle, Jefferson served as a hybrid player; he saw time at both defensive end and D-tackle. The 2016 fifth-round pick served as a rotational cog in Buffalo but was primarily a starter in his final two Seattle seasons. Jefferson has accumulated 9.5 sacks over the past three seasons, though he underwhelmed in Buffalo. The five-year veteran has never played under Bradley, but the former Seahawks DC will use a similar system to the one in which Jefferson operated in Seattle.
Oakland has added Yannick Ngakoue at end, where he will team with 2019 draftees Clelin Ferrell and Maxx Crosby. The team also re-signed Johnathan Hankins on Wednesday. Maliek Collins, a 2020 signee, defected to the Texans this week.
Raiders To Re-Sign Johnathan Hankins
The Raiders are keeping one of their own in the fold. Las Vegas is re-signing defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins to a one-year deal, Vic Tafur of The Athletic tweets.
Hankins’ contract is a one-year deal worth $3.5MM, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. It comes with a $1.75MM salary and a $1.75MM signing bonus, per Wilson. This will represent a slight salary decrease for the mammoth D-tackle, whose previous Raiders pact was a two-year, $8.5MM accord. 
The big fella from Ohio State has been with the Raiders the past three seasons now. Originally a second-round pick of the Giants back in 2011, he spent his first four years in New York. He then signed a three-year, $30MM pact with the Colts in 2017, but was released just one season into that. He landed with the Raiders, where he’s been ever since.
He’s started at least 14 games in each of his three seasons with the team, including all 16 in 2020. He finished with 48 tackles, one sack, and a fumble recovery while playing a little over 60 percent of the defensive snaps as a run-stuffer. He received middling marks from Pro Football Focus.
He signed a two-year, $8.5MM deal prior to the 2019 season, and it’ll be interesting to see how the financials on this one compare to that.
Chiefs To Sign OL Kyle Long
Kyle Long‘s comeback tour will see him joining the defending AFC champs. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the veteran offensive lineman is signing with the Chiefs. Long is signing a one-year deal worth up to $5MM.
The 2013 first-round pick had spent his entire seven-year career with the Bears, earning three Pro Bowl appearances and a second-team All-Pro nod in 2014. However, the offensive guard dealt with a long list of injuries between 2016 and 2019, averaging only 7.5 games per season over that four-year span. After being limited to only four games in 2019, Long announced his retirement last offseason. The Bears subsequently declined his option.
We learned earlier this month that the 32-year-old was eyeing a return to the NFL. If he can stay healthy, Long has a good chance of contributing with his new squad. The Chiefs have made revamping Patrick Mahomes‘ offensive line a priority this offseason, and they proved that by giving Joe Thuney a hulking five-year contract. The team was also mentioned as a potential suitor for Trent Williams before he re-signed with the 49ers.
The Raiders were also a suitor for Long’s services, a logical landing spot considering the player’s father, Hall of Fame defensive end Howie Long, played his entire 13-year career with the Raiders. However, Vic Tafur of The Athletic tweets that Long’s visit with the organization didn’t necessarily go as planned. Some sources told the reporter that Long’s workout “didn’t go that well,” while others told Tafur that the free agent was “freaked out” by the organization’s decision to dump center Rodney Hudson.
Raiders To Sign DL Solomon Thomas
Solomon Thomas is heading south. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports (via Twitter) that the free agent defensive lineman is signing with the Raiders. It will be a one-year deal worth up to $5MM.
The 2017 third-overall pick out of Stanford never lived up to his draft billing during his four years with the 49ers. He started 25 games through his first two seasons in the NFL, collecting 13 tackles for loss, 17 QB hits, and four sacks. However, he settled into more of a backup role in 2019, finishing the year with two sacks in 16 games (three starts). Thomas also appeared in each of the 49ers three playoff games that season, compiling four tackles and one sack.
The 49ers declined Thomas’s fifth-year option last offseason, paving the way for a potential contract-year breakout in 2020. Thomas started each of San Francisco’s first two games, but he was limited to only a pair of tackles. He tore his ACL during the 49ers’ Week 2 win over the Jets, ending his season early.
The Raiders have been busy adding to their defense this week, agreeing to terms on a two-year deal with linebacker Yannick Ngakoue, re-signing defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, and re-signing linebacker Nicholas Morrow. We learned earlier today that the team was also set to host free agent defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson.
Raiders Expected To Bring Back Richie Incognito
The Raiders are taking over the NFL’s Wednesday headlines, with their offensive line being the key focus. While they are retooling up front, the team is now expected to have potentially three starters back.
Richie Incognito indicated he will return to the Raiders, via Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith. When the Raiders cut the veteran guard earlier this month, he was rumored to be a candidate to re-sign.
Going into his age-38 season, Incognito will rejoin left tackle Kolton Miller and fellow guard Denzelle Good, whom the Raiders also agreed to re-sign Wednesday. Incognito had previously signed a Raiders extension, but after missing 14 games last season due to injury, the team shed that contract. It is likely the polarizing veteran’s latest accord comes in at a lower rate.
While Incognito has missed two full seasons, largely because of off-field issues, he has played well when available. Pro Football Focus has graded the journeyman blocker as a top-25 guard in each of the seasons he has played since 2010. Incognito was 3-for-3 in Pro Bowls with the Bills and helped the Raiders assemble one of the NFL’s best lines upon signing with Oakland in 2019. Despite missing extensive time last year and undergoing a late-season foot surgery, Incognito is believed to be healthy ahead of the Raiders’ offseason program.
Interestingly, Incognito doubled as perhaps the Raiders’ top signing in 2019. The initial Jon Gruden–Mike Mayock offseason brought Trent Brown, Antonio Brown, Tyrell Williams and Lamarcus Joyner. None remain with the team.
Incognito will return to a new-look O-line. The Raiders have traded both Trent Brown and Rodney Hudson and are trying to trade Gabe Jackson. If the Raiders cannot unload Jackson, who was acquired before the second Gruden regime began, it is likely he will be released.
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.