Mychal Kendricks Leaves Raiders Without Deal
Mychal Kendricks‘ left his visit with the Raiders on Wednesday without signing a deal, as Vic Tafur of The Athletic tweets. With that in mind, Kendricks’ scheduled visit with the Browns should take place this week.
Kendricks has been vocal about his desire to play with his brother in Minnesota, but the Vikings’ level of interest is not immediately clear following their meeting. Minnesota arguably would give Kendricks the easiest path towards another Super Bowl ring, but the Browns – armed with upwards of $70MM in cap room – could be the highest bidder of the bunch. The Raiders, meanwhile, would have to do some maneuvering to sign Kendricks given that they have just $1.7MM in cap room.
Mychal Kendricks To Visit Browns, Raiders
We learned earlier today that former Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks met with the Vikings, and it sounds like he’s got several more visits on his docket. Chris Tomasson of St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (via Twitter) that the free agent will also visit with the Raiders and Browns. The 27-year-old expects to make a decision before the end of the week.
It didn’t take long for Kendricks, who was released by the Eagles last week, to start garnering some suitors. While the former second-rounder’s production has dropped the past two seasons, he’d still be a solid veteran presence for any team. After requesting a trade prior to the 2017 season, Kendricks went on to compile 51 tackles and two sacks in 15 games (13 starts) for Philly. He also earned a start during his team’s Super Bowl victory, finishing the game with four tackles.
While their depth charts are in good shape, the Browns and Raiders could use an additional body at linebacker. Jamie Collins, Joe Schobert, and Christian Kirksey are slotted in as Cleveland’s starting grouping. The latter two were solid in 2017, and Collins is the most accomplished of the three, but Kendricks could compete for a starting gig. Meanwhile, the Raiders have three free agent additions – Tahir Whitehead, Derrick Johnson, and Emmanuel Lamur – penciled in as their starters, so another free agent addition (Kendricks) would provide additional competition at the position.
Tomasson also passes along (via Twitter) that the Vikings haven’t made a definitive offer to Kendricks. When asked about Minnesota’s salary cap constraints, the linebacker acknowledged that he hasn’t “even thought that far.”
Poll: Which AFC West Team Had The Best Offseason?
Of all the divisions in the NFL, perhaps none had a busier offseason than the AFC West. The Chargers were the only team in the division that didn’t change their head coach or starting quarterback. Each team had their own clear strategy for navigating the spring, but only one will emerge as the top dog in the division next season. 
The Raiders kicked off a new era in January when they signed Jon Gruden to a ten-year deal to be their new head coach. Over the last few months, Gruden has totally remade the team to fit his vision of a squad with lots of veteran leaders, while getting rid of some players whose personalities he didn’t like such as Michael Crabtree and Marquette King. They’ve signed a slew of aging veterans like Doug Martin, Jordy Nelson, and Leon Hall. They added offensive tackle Kolton Miller with their first-round pick to help bolster their offensive line and keep Derek Carr upright. The 2018 season will be the team’s first without Sebastian Janikowski as their kicker since 1999, as the team let the longtime fan favorite walk in free-agency. This Raiders team will be one of the oldest in recent league history, but with some top-line talent in Carr, Amari Cooper, and Khalil Mack, along with a very experienced locker room, they have the potential to make some noise in the AFC.
The Chargers had by far the quietest offseason of all the AFC West teams. They opted to mostly stand pat in free agency, although they did sign Mike Pouncey after he was cut by the Dolphins. The Chargers are mostly counting on the talent from last year’s team being able to get them over the hump this year. They got what many considered to be the steal of the draft when Florida State safety Derwin James fell to them at the 17th pick in the first-round. They’ve sought to address the kicking game, the team’s biggest weakness in 2017, by bringing in Caleb Sturgis and former second-round pick Roberto Aguayo to compete. On paper, the Chargers are one of the most talented teams in the league. A couple of missed field goals at the end of games was the only thing stopping them from being a playoff team last year. They’ve been a popular media pick so far to win the AFC West in 2018, and could make a deep playoff run if they can put it all together.
The Chiefs kicked off the NFL offseason by making a blockbuster trade with the Redskins, shipping out quarterback Alex Smith and officially starting the Patrick Mahomes era in Kansas City. The team had no first-round pick, but did make a splash in free agency. They signed Sammy Watkins to a three-year deal to pair with Tyreek Hill on the outside. They lost offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, who took a head coaching job with the Bears. They also traded All-Pro cornerback Marcus Peters to the Rams, in part due to his clashes with the coaching staff. It was a tumultuous offseason for the Chiefs as they look to restart rather than rebuild. Mahomes showed flashes of brilliance during his lone regular season start last year, but it will be hard to win in a tough division with a quarterback making his first meaningful starts. Still, if any coach could pull it off, it’s probably Andy Reid.
The Broncos are coming off one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history. Following their Super Bowl win in 2015, they went 9-7 in 2016 only for the wheels to come off this past year. They ended up starting three different quarterbacks, and none of Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, and Brock Osweiler were effective. Siemian and Osweiler are gone now, and Lynch will be fighting for a roster spot this summer. The team brought in Case Keenum to be their new starting quarterback, and added defensive end Bradley Chubb with the fifth overall pick. They traded Aqib Talib, a former staple of their legendary “No Fly Zone” to the Rams, and traded for former second-round safety Su’a Cravens. While the Broncos didn’t do anything crazy to revamp their roster other than bringing in Keenum, things tend to change quickly in the NFL, so it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see the Broncos rebound fast from their dismal 5-11 season.
Which team do you think had the best offseason in the AFC West? Vote in PFR’s poll below and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section!
Raiders Owner Abstains From Anthem Vote
After the NFL recently announced their new national anthem policy, more details about the owners’ process are trickling out. There apparently was no official vote on the new anthem policy, only an informal polling of owners by league executives, according to Seth Wickersham of ESPN (Twitter links). Wickersham added that Raiders owner Mark Davis abstained from the vote and was “one of the most eloquent speakers on the social justice issues.” Davis joined 49ers owner Jed York, who made his abstention public yesterday, in abstaining from the vote.
Raiders Waive CB Senquez Golson
Senquez Golson‘s time in Oakland is already through. The Raiders waived the cornerback on Wednesday, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). 
The Raiders signed Golson just seven weeks ago to what was likely a one-year deal with little or no guaranteed money. The former second-round pick of the Steelers apparently didn’t show much in camp, leading to a quick release.
Steelers had high hopes for Golson when selecting him in 2015, but he never played a down for them and spent the first two years of his career on injured reserve. Golson suffered another injury in the 2017 preseason and was subsequently waived. He was signed to the Buccaneers’ practice squad last year, but was cut shortly after and has yet to appear in a regular season NFL game.
The Raiders have overhauled their secondary this offseason by signing cornerbacks Rashaan Melvin, Leon Hall, Shareece Wright, and Daryl Worley as well as safety Marcus Gilchrist. With fourth-round pick Nick Nelson now also in the mix, things are even more crowded at cornerback.
Per league rules, Golson will now be subject to the waiver wire. If no teams claims him by the end of business on Thursday, he will be free to sign with any club of his choosing.
Raiders' Melifonwu Not Yet Healthy
- Bad news for Raiders safety Obi Melifonwu as he looks to carve out a role on Jon Gruden‘s team this year. The UConn product and former second-round pick is apparently a long way from 100% health as he looks to return from hip surgery. “It doesn’t look close at all,” Gruden said (via Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area). “I’ll leave it at that. He doesn’t look close, to me, at all...I haven’t seen much of Obi except in the training room.” The Raiders have plenty of other options at safety with Karl Joseph, Reggie Nelson, and Marcus Gilchrist at the front of the line, so Melifonwu will push to get on the practice field as soon as possible.
Bruce Irvin Moving To DE
- Bruce Irvin played as a 4-3 outside linebacker the past two seasons with the Raiders, but new DC Paul Guenther is moving him to defensive end, Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com notes (on Twitter). Irvin often played end during his first two seasons in Oakland, but did so in sub-packages while lining up as a stand-up ‘backer in most base sets, similar to the Broncos’ usage of Von Miller from 2011-14. Irvin began his career as a defensive end before the Seahawks relocated him. Now that Irvin is at end, Gutierrez notes Tahir Whitehead and Emmanuel Lamur lined up as outside linebackers with the Raiders’ first-stringers at Tuesday’s OTA session.
- Also at Raiders OTAs, Gareon Conley participated fully, per Gutierrez. A shin injury wiped out most of the 2017 first-rounder’s rookie season, and only recently did the former Ohio State standout receive full clearance.
- Donald Penn will be limited during these workouts, with Gutierrez noting the longtime Oakland left tackle is still recovering from Lisfranc surgery. Penn is not expected to be ready to participate fully until training camp. For now, second-year player David Sharpe took the reps in 11-on-11 work while Breno Giacomini opened with the starters at right tackle. The Raiders are planning to have Kolton Miller train as a left tackle to start his career.
Latest On Christian Hackenberg Trade
Christian Hackenberg‘s final days as a Jet were rather interesting. After the team added Sam Darnold and Teddy Bridgewater, essentially admitting a second-round misfire, it was revealed Hackenberg worked with an independent passing coach and changed his throwing motion. And he did so unbeknownst to Todd Bowles.
Earlier on Tuesday, when he was still a Jet, the third-year quarterback pointed to a lack of consistent instruction from the team’s coaching staff as a sign of frustration.
“I don’t know,” Hackenberg said (via Daniel Popper of the New York Daily News) when asked why he overhauled his passing motion this offseason. “I think there were some times where I threw it really good throughout my first two years here, so that was the frustrating part for me, is the ups and downs and not knowing why, if that makes sense, and not really getting any information from anybody on how to fix that and how do address it.”
Hours after those comments, the Jets made the deal with the Raiders. However, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter) this move did not come as a result of those comments. The Jets held Hackenberg out of Tuesday’s seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 drills because they’d worked out a deal with the Raiders earlier today, Darryl Slater of NJ.com reports.
“We did everything we could to try to help him as best we could,” the fourth-year HC said, via Slater. “He’s allowed to be critical. We suggested things, and we try to fix every player possible that we have. It just didn’t work out here.”
While the timing is interesting, this move also comes after Bridgewater participated fully in an OTA workout for the first time since 2016. That shouldn’t be viewed as a sign the former first-round pick has put his severe knee injury completely behind him, but it’s a positive development. And if Bridgewater is healthy during training camp, there wouldn’t be room for Hackenberg on Gang Green’s roster.
Rapoport adds the Raiders will not immediately release one of their quarterbacks to accommodate Hackenberg, who still has not thrown a pass in a regular-season game. Oakland still has Connor Cook and EJ Manuel behind Derek Carr. Manuel played ahead of Cook last season and was summoned into duty when Carr went down early in the season. Cook, however, played as a rookie when both the players ahead of him suffered injuries. There won’t be room for all three of these backups on Oakland’s 53-man roster, though. And Jon Gruden did not make the decisions to acquire Cook or Manuel, perhaps giving Hackenberg a good chance of usurping one of them this summer.
Additionally, the trade involves a conditional seventh-round pick in 2019, per Rapoport, and the compensation is tied to Hackenberg’s playing time.
Jets Trade Christian Hackenberg To Raiders
Christian Hackenberg is headed to the opposite coast. The Jets have traded the quarterback to the Raiders for a conditional seventh-round pick, coach Todd Bowles announced.
Hackenberg was considered to be an extreme longshot to make the Jets’ final cut following the re-signing of Josh McCown, the free agent addition of Teddy Bridgewater, and the drafting of Sam Darnold with the No. 3 overall pick. The waiving of Bryce Petty gave the former Penn State signal caller some reason for hope, but the Jets probably saw little need to keep Hackenberg around after Bridgewater took the practice field on Tuesday with no ill effects from his surgically-repaired knee.
Hackenberg, the No. 51 overall pick in the 2016 draft, has yet to throw an NFL pass. In an effort to get his career on track, Hackenberg recently revamped his throwing motion – without first consulting Jets coaches.
“[Hackenberg] hasn’t talked to me about it,” Bowles said earlier this month. “He’s just worked on it and I learned about it after the fact.”
Hackenberg’s odds of making the Raiders’ final cut are stronger than they were in New York, but it’s far from a guarantee that he’ll be in Oakland come September. The Raiders already have EJ Manuel and Connor Cook battling for time behind starter Derek Carr.
Raiders Sign Brandon Parker, Nick Nelson
The Raiders inked two of their draft picks on Monday afternoon. Third-round offensive tackle Brandon Parker and fourth-round cornerback Nick Nelson are now under contract, meaning that eight of their nine selections have been signed. As shown on PFR’s tracker, third-round defensive end Arden Key is the last unsigned rookie of the bunch. 
Parker, the No. 65 overall pick in last month’s draft, played four seasons at North Carolina AT&T and started all 48 of his games at left tackle. The reigning MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Year and FCS All-American First Team selection will compete for time behind starters Donald Penn and fellow rookie Kolton Miller at the tackle spots.
Nelson, the No. 110 overall pick, spent the first two years of his collegiate career at Hawaii before transferring to Wisconsin. With the Badgers, Nelson tallied 35 tackles and tied for third in the country with 21 passes defended. Nelson has 40 passes defensed in three NCAA seasons but, somehow, did not record an interception in that time. That may have been a red mark against him in the draft process, along with his torn meniscus in early April.
The good news is that Nelson is expected to be back to full health this summer, which should allow for him to compete for playing time behind starters Gareon Conley and Rashaan Melvin. Shareece Wright, Dexter McDonald, Leon Hall, and Daryl Worley are also among those in the CB mix.