Raiders, Redskins, Titans Have Shown “Most Interest” In WR Antonio Brown
While plenty of teams will surely express interest in Steelers receiver Antonio Brown, it sounds like a handful of teams have been particularly aggressive. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that three teams have “shown the most interest” in the wideout: the Raiders, the Redskins, and the Titans.
It’s not too surprising that these three teams are seemingly emerging from the pack, as they all struggled with wide receiver production in 2018. In fact, as ESPN’s Field Yates tweets, the Titans (seven), Redskins (eight), and Raiders (nine) were all in the bottom-three for touchdowns by receivers last season. For comparison’s sake, Brown finished the campaign with a league-leading 15 touchdown receptions.
It’s been almost a month since Brown requested a trade from the Steelers, but few teams have definitively been connected to the receiver. We heard earlier this week that the Jets were considering making a move for the veteran, although they had yet to reach out to Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, Michael Silver of Sports Illustrated tweets that we should “keep an eye” on the Saints during this sweepstakes, and several other reporters have backed his sentiment.
We also heard about the Raiders interest in the receiver yesterday. The organization is a natural fit due to their need for talent and their draft capital, but our own Zach Links noted that the Steelers would be unlikely to pry away the fourth-overall pick. Instead, the Raiders’ pair of late first-rounders could be in play. Half of the Raiders receivers depth chart is set to hit some form of free agency, and the team will presumably be looking for an upgrade on Jordy Nelson as their top receiver.
It sounds like Redskins coach Jay Gruden will be battling with his brother to acquire the star receiver. With Alex Smith‘s future in doubt, the organization will also presumably be seeking another quarterback to compete with Colt McCoy. You could assume that Brown’s presence in Washington would improve their chances of attracting one of the top free agent signal-callers.
The Titans have struggled to surround Marcus Mariota with elite weapons during his brief career, although former first-rounder Corey Davis did take a major step forward last season. Adding Brown to the picture would surely improve the team’s chances of returning to the postseason.
Latest On Marshawn Lynch, Raiders
The Raiders are still waiting to see how veteran running back Marshawn Lynch recovers from his groin injury to decide if they bring him back in 2019, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch writes. 
Lynch, who will turn 33 before the 2019 season kicks off, is expected to have more of an interest in returning to his hometown team now that the team will for sure be playing their games in the Bay Area. Head coach Jon Gruden said the decision is one that will likely play itself out before the draft.
“I think the coming weeks will give us a better indication where is physically,” he said. “That’s the No. 1 agenda. We have to find out officially how he has responded to the injury. We’ll know something here in a couple of weeks.”
Though his season was cut short by that groin injury, Lynch still managed to average 4.2 yards per carry while gaining 376 yards on the ground. The five-time Pro Bowl selection ranks 29th all time in rushing yards and 16th in rushing touchdowns.
The Raiders are sure to be in the market for a running back as both Lynch and Doug Martin are free agents heading into 2019.
Raiders Interested In Antonio Brown
The Raiders are one of “several” teams interested in Steelers star Antonio Brown, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Rapoport adds that there is a market developing for the ultra-talented wide receiver. 
The Raiders are in need of talent across the board and they’re a logical suitor for Brown given their significant draft capital. Oakland owns four picks in the top 35, including three-first round picks. The Steelers are unlikely to pry the No. 4 overall pick from the Raiders in a Brown deal, but picks No. 24 or No. 27 could be up for grabs.
Brown, 31 in July, earned his sixth consecutive Pro Bowl selection in 2018, finishing with 104 catches, 1,297 yards and a league-leading and career-high 15 touchdown receptions. Still, things went sideways between him and the Steelers. The rise of JuJu Smith-Schuster and the attention he received may have caused tensions to boil over between Brown and coach Mike Tomlin (plus other key figures), but that won’t stop clubs from chasing one of this generation’s most dangerous offensive weapons.
Raiders To Exercise Karl Joseph’s Option?
Despite recent speculation to the contrary, Raiders head coach Jon Gruden indicated that the Raiders will exercise the fifth-year option on safety Karl Joseph (Twitter link via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle). Of course, there’s still plenty of time between now and the May deadline, so things could change. 
The Raiders were reportedly willing to trade Joseph at last year’s trade deadline for a third-round pick, though they were unable to find any takers. Moving Joseph this time around could require taking a lot less and that might not make sense for the Raiders since the 2020 fifth-year option would be guaranteed for injury only.
Joseph has not quite set the world on fire since being taken with the No. 14 overall pick in 2016, but he did show some promise last year. Joseph finished out with 48 tackles, two sacks, an interception (the third of his career) and graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 23 ranked safety in the NFL.
Regardless of what happens with Joseph, the Raiders’ secondary will have a new look in 2019.
Either way, Joseph will have a new running mate in the Raiders’ defensive backfield in 2019. Veterans Reggie Nelson and Marcus Gilchrist are not expected to return, so there will be a new free safety starting opposite of Joseph’s spot at strong safety.
Jon Gruden: Derek Carr Is Our Franchise QB
The Raiders have been heavily connected to Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, but Jon Gruden insists that Derek Carr is still very much in the team’s plans. On Thursday, Gruden reaffirmed his commitment to Carr, just one day after GM Mike Mayock did the same. 
“Yes. He’s our franchise quarterback. Let me make that clear,” Gruden said (via PFT).
Carr’s $19.9MM base salary for 2019 became fully guaranteed a few weeks ago. The Raiders could still explore other QB options, of course, but a Carr release is no longer a real possibility.
Gruden’s vote of confidence for Carr won’t necessarily put a damper the Murray speculation. Recently, Gruden said that watching Murray play was like “watching a video game” and lauded the QB for his athleticism. With four picks in the top 35, including the No. 4 overall choice, the Raiders have enough ammo to take Murray and still strengthen other areas.
Carr, 28 in March, went just 4-12 as the Raiders’ starter last season. He completed a career-high 68.9% of his passesbut threw for only 19 touchdowns against ten interceptions.
Raiders To Keep A.J. McCarron?
Raiders quarterback A.J. McCarron is scheduled to receive a $3MM bonus if he’s on the roster on March 15. In theory, the Raiders can cut him in the next two weeks to avoid that expenditure, but it sounds like he’s still in the team’s plans for 2019. 
“I think Jon [Gruden] and I both believe that the backup quarterback is one snap away from playing. It’s important to have someone like McCarron ready to go,” GM Mike Mayock said (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the Review-Journal).
In addition to his $3MM bonus on March 15, $1.1MM of McCarron’s $1.8MM salary will become fully guaranteed on March 17. McCarron, who moved between the Bengals, Bills, and Raiders last offseason, will probably be happy to take his coat off and stay a while.
When signed by the Bills in March of last year, McCarron was expected to serve as the successor to Tyrod Taylor. Unfortunately for him, things changed in April when the Bills drafted Josh Allen to be their QB of the future. Just before the start of the season, the Bills shipped McCarron to Oakland for a fifth-round pick.
McCarron probably still aims to be someone’s starter, but for now, he’ll be one snap away from anchoring the Raiders’ offense.
Raiders Not Expected To Pick Up Karl Joseph’s Fifth-Year Option?
It seems like every player on the Raiders’ roster was on the trading block at some point last year, and safety Karl Joseph was no exception. It was reported that Oakland was willing to move Joseph at the trade deadline in exchange for a third-round pick, but no one stepped up to meet that asking price.
At the end of December, though, we heard that the team had done something of an about-face on Joseph and viewed him as a long-term building block. His play certainly improved down the stretch, and he has proven himself to be a talented pass rusher and in-the-box safety while still being competent in coverage. Plus, he will only be 26 when the regular season starts, and he was the No. 14 overall pick in the 2016 draft.
However, Vic Tafur of The Athletic does not believe the team is sold on Joseph just yet. The West Virginia product is controllable through 2020 via the fifth-year option, but the option must be exercised next month, and if the Raiders do not exercise it, Joseph would be eligible for free agency after the 2019 campaign. Tafur expects that the Raiders will take that chance, as he believes Oakland would like to see how Joseph performs in a prove-it year before committing to him beyond this season (although the fifth-year option is guaranteed for injury only, so as long as Joseph does not suffer a major injury, the Raiders could cut him after 2019 without incurring any dead money).
Either way, Joseph will have a new running mate in the Raiders’ defensive backfield in 2019. Reggie Nelson and Marcus Gilchrist are not expected to return, so either another veteran FA or a rookie will be manning the free safety spot alongside Joseph, the club’s strong safety.
Latest On Raiders’ Marshawn Lynch
The Raiders will play in Oakland for at least one more year and that improves the odds of a Marshawn Lynch return, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Oakland native was not interested in the alternative scenarios that would have seen the Raiders playing outside of the region, but the running back could be convinced to come back to play in his hometown.
[RELATED: Ravens Cut WR Michael Crabtree]
Lynch, 33 in April, saw his 2018 season cut short by a groin injury. He appeared in only six games, though he still managed to average 4.2 yards per carry as a part of a shaky Raiders offense.
For what it’s worth, Jon Gruden says the Raiders would “love” to have Lynch back in uniform. Still, Lynch is out of contract, so a new deal will be required. veteran Doug Martin is also ticketed for free agency and younger option Jalen Richard will be a restricted free agent, so there are a lot of moving parts involved.
Over the course of his career, Lynch has accumulated five Pro Bowl nods and one first-team All-Pro selection. He’s averaged 4.3 yards per carry across eleven seasons and has posted double-digit touchdown totals in four separate campaigns.
Raiders To Play In Oakland In 2019
The Raiders and the Coliseum Authority reached an agreement for the team to remain in Oakland for the 2019 season, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The two sides are still ironing out details, but the deal will allow the Raiders to also stay for 2020 if their Las Vegas stadium is not ready.
[RELATED: Jon Gruden Discusses Raiders’ Plans]
After a board meeting to solidify the agreement on Friday or Tuesday, the deal will go in front of Oakland city council. After that, the Raiders will seek final approval at the league meetings in March.
There have been a number of scenarios discussed for the Raiders recently, including one in which the Raiders would play in San Francisco’s Oracle Park, the home of MLB’s Giants. That accord ran into issues, however, as the 49ers refused to waive their territorial rights to the San Francisco area.
The Raiders are expected to pay a $7.5MM fee to play in the Coliseum in 2019.
Jon Gruden Discusses Raiders’ Plans For Draft, Free Agency
The Raiders are armed with three first-round picks heading into April’s draft, providing the organization with plenty of flexibility. Head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock will have to decide how they’ll want to use their early-round picks, but it sounds like the team is certainly open to making some deals.
“I think there’s a lot of potential for trades, and I think that’s one of the things I’m excited about [with] Mike Mayock,” Gruden said during his appearance on “The Game Plan” podcast on the Raiders Podcast Network (via Raiders.com). “What he brings to the table, he’s got great resources around the NFL. He’s been in every building, he’s on a first-name basis, everybody knows Mike and I think he’s going to be on the phones quite a bit with the two picks you talked about. Who knows, we may move up with the No. 4 pick, we may move back with that pick. We’ll see how it all unfolds.”
In the first round, the Raiders have their own pick (#4), the Bears’ pick (#24), and the Cowboys’ pick (#27). Otherwise, the team has seven selections between the second and seventh round.
Of course, the organization is also focused on free agency. While Gruden seemed to indicate that the team will be active, he also cautioned that they’ll be targeting a specific grouping of players.
“We’ve been doing nothing but studying free agents,” Gruden said. “Guys [whose] contracts are up, obviously we aren’t looking to add players that are at the end of their career. We’re looking for blossoming young players, those guys usually don’t get to free agency. The pickings are slim for everybody, but there are a couple diamonds in the rough. We’ll see where the market goes, but you don’t want to spend all your money that you have on a few free agents, you want to try and keep some of that money available in case a trade might develop during the draft.”
After signing a 10-year, $100MM contract last offseason, Gruden’s team disappointed during his first season at the helm. The team ultimately finished the season 4-12, their worst showing since 2014.