Tyrell Williams Details Foot Injuries
Tyrell Williams dealt with injuries to both of his feet last season, missing time because of it. The maladies took a while to recover from this offseason, but the veteran Raiders wideout believes he has nearly surmounted the nagging problems.
Williams missed two games with plantar fasciitis in his right foot but said his left foot became a discomfort source after he returned. The second-year Raider then dealt with pain in both feet the rest of the way. Williams still averaged 15.5 yards per catch, but the Raiders drafted two wideouts and a gadget player (Lynn Bowden Jr.) in the first three rounds. The Raiders guaranteed Williams’ $11MM base salary earlier this year, but the ex-Charger has no guaranteed money on his deal beyond 2020.
Here is more injury news from the Raiders’ receiving corps and the latest from the rest of the Wests:
- Las Vegas first-round pick Henry Ruggs suffered an injury helping a friend move last month but is expected to be ready for camp. While the Raiders’ newest speed merchant received stitches, he sustained no muscular damage, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Around six weeks remain until rookies report for camps.
AFC West Notes: Chiefs, Mahomes, Raiders, Broncos
Patrick Mahomes could be the NFL’s first $200MM player if he takes full advantage of his leverage, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com writes. However, Corry suggests that the Chiefs star should be less fixated on that figure and more focused on a similarly lucrative three-year extension. With a shorter deal, the quarterback could land an even bigger payday, thanks to the expected rise in revenue from the addition of a 17th regular season game.
There’s also been lots of chatter about a clause in the later years of Mahomes’ deal that would tie his contract to the salary cap as it escalates. It doesn’t seem out of the question for the NFL’s brightest star, but Corry isn’t sure if the Chiefs will be willing to set a radically new precedent in the game.
The salary cap percentage clause would be a game-changer, but I’d imagine that it’s in the realm of possibility for Mahomes, especially after Kirk Cousins secured a fully-guaranteed deal with the Vikings.
Here’s more from the AFC West:
- Raiders newcomer Nick Kwiatkoski will play middle linebacker in the Raiders 4-3 scheme, according to Scott Bair of NBC Sports. Kwiatkoski played on the inside of the Bears’ 3-4 layout and defensive coordinator Paul Guenther believes that he can be the team’s field general at the position. Kwiatkoski – signed for three years thanks to his $21MM deal – will be joined by fellow free agent addition Cory Littleton.
- Raiders rookie Lynn Bowden Jr. had his home searched by the DEA this week, but his agency says that the running back was not arrested or charged afterwards (via Tashan Reed of The Athletic). Barring league discipline, the Raiders plan to open the year with Bowden as one of their supporting tailbacks behind starter Josh Jacobs. Devontae Booker, Jalen Richard, and Rod Smith are also on hand. On the field, Bowden has impressed – he ran for nearly 1,500 yards at Kentucky last year with an eye-popping average of 7.9 yards per carry.
- After the departure of safety Will Parks, Broncos defensive back Alijah Holder says he’s ready to step up for whatever role he’s assigned. “I’m a quick learner and wherever they put me, I’m going to learn the position,” Holder said (via Ryan O’Halloran of the Denver Post). “In dime, I feel I could take on that role. In practice last year, I played dime and nickel so I’m pretty familiar with most of the stuff. I really would love the chance to play dime if [defensive coordinator Vic Fangio] if goes that way.”
Teams Viewing Logan Ryan As Nickel CB?
Logan Ryan stands as one of the most attractive free agents left, in part due to his ability play both on the inside and the outside. However, some teams see Ryan as only a nickel cornerback, according to Adam Caplan of Inside The Birds. 
[RELATED: Ryan’s Asking Price Too High For Jets?]
That might help to explain the 29-year-old’s prolonged stint in free agency. Ryan is believed to be seeking $10MM per year and that’s not the kind of coin given to nickel defenders. Justin Coleman (Lions, $9MM/year), Tavon Young (Ravens, $8.6MM/year), and Chris Harris Jr. (Chargers, $8.5MM/year) lead the position in pay and Ryan probably can’t top that with a team only using him in the slot.
“A few of us during our early free agency meetings discussed whether to sign him and move him to safety,” one AFC official told Caplan. “You love his smarts, toughness and leadership…you just get concerned with putting him up against guys who can really run.”
The Jets have been heavily connected to Ryan, who was thought to be a natural fit opposite of Pierre Desir. The Dolphins – despite having already committed serious dollars and resources to the position – are also reportedly interested in Ryan, but they would only have room for him as a nickelback. Caplan notes that the Raiders – who were looking for an outside corner earlier this year – saw Ryan as a slot man. With Lamarcus Joyner already in that role, the Raiders did not pursue him.
Last year, Ryan set career-highs in tackles (113), passes defended (18), sacks (4.5), and forced fumbles (four). Given his past performance, Ryan shouldn’t have a hard time finding work, but he might not get the $10MM figure he’s seeking.
Latest On Raiders, Gabe Jackson
A year after trading All-Pro guard Kelechi Osemele to the Jets in a pick-swap deal, the Raiders shopped Gabe Jackson for a mid- to late-round pick, Vic Tafur of The Athletic notes (subscription required).
Trade interest emerged. But after the draft, GM Mike Mayock said Jackson would remain the Raiders’ starting right guard. On Monday, Jackson’s $9.35MM 2020 base salary became guaranteed, Tafur adds.
This makes it likely the Raiders will return their entire starting line. Last year’s Raider front five ranked sixth in Football Outsiders’ adjusted line yards metric, helping Josh Jacobs to an 1,150-yard season in just 13 games.
“I hadn’t heard anything, and you never know,” Jackson said Monday, via Tafur. “It was a weird feeling, but I am very happy to be back.”
Although Jackson has missed eight games over the past two seasons due to injury, he has enjoyed a solid career. The 28-year-old blocker joins Derek Carr as the Raiders’ longest-tenured starters, with each having debuted in the team’s lineup in Week 1 of the 2014 season. Jackson and Carr signed extensions days apart in June 2017. Pro Football Focus has continually slotted Jackson as an above-average guard, placing him in the top 15 at the position as recently as the 2018 season. The former third-round pick missed five games because of a knee malady last season.
The Raiders were busy on their interior line this offseason. They extended Richie Incognito and re-signed Denzelle Good and Jordan Devey. They also signed Eric Kush and traded up in the fourth round for Clemson guard John Simpson. The latter, an All-American in 2019, could be viewed as an heir apparent to either Jackson or the soon-to-be 37-year-old Incognito. Jackson is signed through 2022 but has no guaranteed money on his deal after 2020.
Henry Ruggs Suffers Off-Field Injury
Raiders first-round pick Henry Ruggs III will be on the mend for a stretch. The former Alabama standout suffered a thigh injury while helping a friend move furniture Monday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Ruggs’ father said his son is walking on crutches currently but added that he is “pretty much OK.”
“He was trying to move a trailer or something — move furniture or something — and the trailer just kind of pinned him against a car or a wall or something,” Henry Ruggs Jr. said, via AL.com’s Wesley Sinor. “He’s pretty much OK. I’m about to go out there and see him in a little bit. It was just like a little open wound on his leg, a little incision. Like something had stuck him right there on his thigh a little bit.”
Ruggs is expected to be fine, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore (on Twitter), and with the offseason likely not to feature minicamps, the draft’s top speed merchant may well be ready to participate in training camp. But Ruggs, who is expected to be an immediate Raiders contributor, will be on the shelf for the time being.
Raiders Considering Moving Training Camp
Although the Raiders are set to debut in Las Vegas this season, they were scheduled to hold a final training camp at their Napa, Calif., camp home of the past 24 years. The COVID-19 pandemic may change those plans.
The team is seriously considering holding camp at its new Henderson, Nev., headquarters, Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. Both the 49ers and Cowboys have discussed relocating their training camps out of California. The Chargers and Rams are set to hold camps in their home state, but uncertainty remains on this front.
While New Jersey and New York have given the go-ahead for training camps to occur, California has yet to do so. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak has given the Raiders the green light to hold camp in the state.
Despite several workers having tested positive for COVID-19, the Raiders’ stadium remains on track for completion by late July. A training camp in Nevada would simplify the franchise’s process of having its entire player roster, coaching staff and other essential personnel travel back to northern California at a time when travel presents near-unprecedented uncertainty. Raiders officials, per Bonsignore, have discussed the benefits of now staying in Nevada for camp. This may well be the direction the team is leaning.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/28/20
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Las Vegas Raiders
- Re-signed: TE Paul Butler (story)
New Orleans Saints
- Waived: WR Tim White
Seattle Seahawks
- Released: G Demetrius Knox
Raiders TE Nick O’Leary Retires From NFL
About two months ago, Nick O’Leary signed on with the Raiders. Today, the team announced that the tight end has been placed on the reserve/retired list. 
O’Leary, 28 in August, split his 2019 season between the Jaguars and Dolphins. After entering the league as a fifth-round pick of the Bills in 2015, he enjoyed a five-year career as a reliable role player and a pass-blocker. Now, he’s moving on to something new.
To replace O’Leary on the roster, the Raiders re-signed free agent Paul Butler. The tight end spend time with the Raiders over the last two years and he’ll return in 2020 to join them in Las Vegas. He also spent time with the Lions as a reserve/future signing, but he has yet to see live regular season action in the NFL.
Butler will fight for his spot on the 53-man roster, competing in camp alongside tight ends Darren Waller, Jason Witten, Foster Moreau, Derek Carrier, and UDFA Nick Bowers.
Raiders Still Eyeing July Stadium Completion
- Despite the coronavirus altering the construction of the Raiders‘ Allegiant Stadium, the team is eyeing July 31 as a completion date for the Las Vegas-based domed stadium’s “substantial construction,” Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal notes. At least 16 workers have tested positive for COVID-19, and Akers adds the near-$2 billion project moved from two shifts to three to allow for social distancing.
Longest-Tenured GMs In The NFL
When we ran down the longest-tenured head coaches in the NFL, we found that less than half of the league’s current coaches have been in their positions for more than three years. That’s not quite the case with general managers, but there have been plenty of changes in recent years.
A handful of general managers have gotten to take their coats off and stay for a long while. Among coaches, Bill Belichick had joined his team prior to 2003. Here, you’ll see that five GMs have been with their teams since before ’03 (Belichick, of course, is also on this list). Two of those five – Jerry Jones and Mike Brown – are outliers, since they’re team owners and serve as de facto GMs. But the Patriots, Steelers, and Saints, have all had the same general managers making their roster decisions for well over a decade.
Here’s the complete list of the NFL’s longest-tenured GMs, along with the date they took over the job:
- Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys): April 18, 1989[1]
- Mike Brown (Cincinnati Bengals): August 5, 1991[2]
- Bill Belichick (New England Patriots): January 27, 2000[3]
- Kevin Colbert (Pittsburgh Steelers): February 18, 2000[4]
- Mickey Loomis (New Orleans Saints): May 14, 2002
- Rick Spielman (Minnesota Vikings): May 30, 2006[5]
- Thomas Dimitroff (Atlanta Falcons): January 13, 2008
- John Schneider (Seattle Seahawks): January 19, 2010[6]
- Howie Roseman (Philadelphia Eagles): January 29, 2010
- John Elway (Denver Broncos): January 5, 2011[7]
- Les Snead (St. Louis Rams): February 10, 2012
- David Caldwell (Jacksonville Jaguars): January 8, 2013
- Steve Keim (Arizona Cardinals): January 8, 2013
- Tom Telesco (San Diego Chargers): January 9, 2013
- Jason Licht (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): January 21, 2014
- Ryan Pace (Chicago Bears): January 8, 2015
- Chris Grier (Miami Dolphins): January 4, 2016
- Bob Quinn (Detroit Lions): January 8, 2016
- Jon Robinson (Tennessee Titans): January 14, 2016
- John Lynch (San Francisco 49ers): January 29, 2017
- Chris Ballard (Indianapolis Colts): January 30, 2017
- Brandon Beane (Buffalo Bills): May 9, 2017
- Brett Veach (Kansas City Chiefs): July 11, 2017
- Marty Hurney (Carolina Panthers): July 19, 2017
- Dave Gettleman (New York Giants): December 28, 2017
- Brian Gutekunst (Green Bay Packers): January 7, 2018
- Mike Mayock (Oakland Raiders): December 31, 2018
- Joe Douglas (New York Jets): June 7, 2019
- Eric DeCosta (Baltimore Ravens): January 7, 2019[8]
- Ron Rivera (Washington Redskins): January 1, 2020[9]
- Andrew Berry (Cleveland Browns): January 27, 2020
- Bill O’Brien (Houston Texans): January 28, 2020
Footnotes:
- Jones has been the Cowboys’ de facto general manager since former GM Tex Schramm resigned in April 1989.
- Brown has been the Bengals’ de facto GM since taking over as the team’s owner in August 1991.
- Belichick has been the Patriots’ de facto GM since shortly after being hired as the team’s head coach in January 2000.
- Colbert was initially hired as the team’s director of football operations and received the newly-created general manager title in 2011.
- Spielman was initially hired as the team’s VP of player personnel and received the GM title in 2012.
- While Schneider holds the title of GM, head coach Pete Carroll has the final say on roster moves for the Seahawks.
- Elway was initially hired as the team’s executive VP of football operations and received the GM title in 2014.
- In 2018, the Ravens announced that DeCosta would replace Ozzie Newsome as GM for Ozzie Newsome after the conclusion of the season. The Ravens’ ’18 season ended with their Wild Card loss to the Chargers on 1/6/19.
- Technically, the Redskins do not have a GM, as of this writing. Rivera is, effectively, their GM, working in tandem with Vice President of Player Personnel Kyle Smith. Smith may receive the GM title in the near future.