Raiders To Exercise Khalil Mack’s Option
The Raiders are exercising the fifth-year option on linebacker Khalil Mack, Peter Schrager of NFL.com tweets. The news doesn’t come as much of a surprise. This was, of course, a no-brainer for the Raiders. 
Before Mack’s option kicks in for the 2018 season, it’s widely expected that the two sides will hammer out a long-term extension. Mack quickly blossomed into a superstar for the Raiders and he has been vocal about his desire to stay for the long haul. The Raiders appear to be a legitimate contender for 2017 and Oakland fans are struggling to cope with the team’s impending move to Las Vegas, so the organization has every reason in the world to lock down the former No. 5 overall pick.
Last season, Mack earned his second consecutive Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro nods. He finished out the season with 73 total tackles and 11 sacks and, unsurprisingly, graded out as Pro Football Focus’ top ranked edge defender. Mack’s 93.9 overall score edged out notable names like Brandon Graham, Cameron Jordan, Von Miller, Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram, and Chandler Jones.
The Raiders have lots of cap room to work with as they talk extension with Mack and quarterback Derek Carr. Deals could go down quickly for both players, but there almost certainly won’t be any signed contracts between now and the draft.
Jarrad Davis To Raiders "Picking Up Steam"
- The possibility of the Raiders drafting Florida linebacker Jarrad Davis is gaining steam, per Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). The Raiders are set to pick 24th overall, which is exactly where Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com ranks Davis among this year’s class of draft-bound players. Davis is especially strong against the run, which could intrigue an Oakland team that last season allowed 4.5 yards per carry – good for 25th in the league.
Raiders Sign Giorgio Tavecchio
Wednesday’s minor NFL moves:
- Restricted free agent offensive linemen James Hurst and Ryan Jensen have signed their tenders with the Ravens, as has exclusive rights free agent wide receiver Chris Matthews. The Ravens tendered both Hurst and Jensen at the lowest level last month, meaning they wouldn’t have been entitled to compensation had either headed elsewhere by way of an unmatched offer sheet. Hurst, a tackle, is the more experienced of the two, having appeared in all 48 regular-season games and totaled 16 starts during his three-year career. Jensen has also been in the NFL for three years, but the interior blocker only has 19 appearances and nine starts to his name.
- The Raiders have announced the signing of kicker Giorgio Tavecchio, who was with the team in each of the previous three training camps. The Italy native, undrafted from Cal in 2012, has also spent time with San Francisco, Green Bay and Detroit, but he hasn’t seen any regular-season action yet.
- The Rams have waived defensive back Kevin Short, who spent time on their practice squad last year and then signed a reserve/futures contract in January. Interestingly, Short came to the pros directly from the JUCO level, having played at Fort Scott Community College (Kansas). He went undrafted in 2015, unsurprisingly, and suited up for the Chiefs’, Seahawks’ and Jets’ practice squads prior to joining LA’s taxi squad.
Raiders Release Dan Williams
The Raiders have released defensive tackle Dan Williams, according to a team announcement. In moving on from Williams, the Raiders have saved $4.5MM, which would have been his entire cap hit for 2017.
Williams, whom the Cardinals chose in the first round of the 2010 draft, spent the first five years of his career in Arizona before signing with the Raiders as a free agent in advance of the 2015 season. The 330-pounder ended up playing out half of the four-year, $25MM contract the Raiders gave him, also collecting $15.2MM in guarantees.
As was the case in Arizona, Williams played a prominent role while with Oakland. He appeared in all 32 of the team’s regular-season contests during his stint and started 26 of those games. Williams’ starts dipped from 15 in 2015 to 11 last year, though, and he tallied a career-low 17 tackles. Nevertheless, the 29-year-old impressed Pro Football Focus, which ranked Williams a solid 44th among 127 qualified interior defensive linemen and, even though he had just half a sack, awarded him a strong pass-rushing grade.
With Williams out of the picture, the Raiders are down to Jihad Ward, Justin Ellis and Darius Latham as their D-tackles. Of course, with the draft coming up, they could add more bodies to the mix in the coming weeks.
Draft Deadline For Marshawn Lynch, Raiders Deal?
The Raiders haven’t yet hammered out a reworked contract with running back Marshawn Lynch, and he won’t be traded from Seattle to Oakland until a new deal is in place. The draft may present a deadline for a Lynch trade, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who notes the Raiders’ draft plans could alter their need for Lynch.
Oakland had hoped to have finished negotiations with Lynch (and the Seahawks) before the start of the club’s offseason program on Monday, per Rapoport. That didn’t happen, so the Raiders may be presented with a quandary when the draft begins next Thursday. If a running back the team likes is still on the board at No. 24, Oakland may simply “take the leap,” says Rapoport, and such a decision would likely end the Raiders’ pursuit of Lynch. For what it’s worth, I sent Florida State’s Dalvin Cook to the Raiders in PFR’s 2017 mock draft.
At present, the Raiders have only four backs on their roster: Jalen Richard, DeAndre Washington, Jamize Olawale, and Taiwan Jones, the latter of whom is essentially only a special teams player. Oakland could certainly use another runner on its depth chart after allowing Latavius Murray to walk in free agency, and for a time, Lynch’s arrival looked like a fait accompli.
Lynch has officially begun the process of reinstatement, although he won’t technically need to be reinstated in order to be dealt.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/17/17
The latest minor moves…
- Raiders defensive end Denico Autry has signed his RFA tender, reports ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link). The Raiders gave the 2014 undrafted free agent an original-round tender, leading to speculation that he could draw interest from elsewhere. Instead, Autry will return to the Raiders on the heels of back-to-back three-sack seasons. ERFAs Seth Roberts (WR) and Denver Kirkland (G) are also back in the fold, according to Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (on Twitter).
- The Seahawks have re-signed linebacker Kache Palacio, writes Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Palacio, a former fullback who went undrafted out of Washington State last year, spent most of 2016 on Seattle’s practice squad.
- Lions ERFAs Brandon Copeland (DE), Kerry Hyder (DT) and T.J. Jones (WR) have signed their tenders, tweets Birkett. Dolphins ERFAs Mike Hull (LB) and Anthony Steen (C) did the same earlier Monday, per Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (Twitter link).
Earlier updates:
- The Panthers have re-upped restricted free agent guard Andrew Norwell and a pair of exclusive rights free agents – center Tyler Larsen and punter Michael Palardy – writes Bryan Strickland of their website. Carolina used a second-round tender on Norwell, who will earn $2.746MM in 2017. Norwell combined for 29 starts over the previous two seasons and ranked 11th in performance among Pro Football Focus’ 72 qualified guards last year.
- Steelers RFA cornerback Ross Cockrell has inked his original-round tender, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). Cockrell went in the fourth round of the 2014 draft, so the Steelers would have been entitled to a fourth-rounder had Cockrell signed elsewhere and they elected against matching the offer. The 25-year-old caught on with the Steelers in 2015 and has since totaled 31 appearances, 23 starts and two interceptions. Cockrell started in every Steelers game last year, and his performance ranked an improve 28th among 111 qualified corners at PFF.
- Chiefs RFA kicker Cairo Santos has signed his tender, per Schefter (on Twitter). Santos, undrafted in 2014, received a low tender; as such, Kansas City wouldn’t have been entitled to compensation had he gone elsewhere. The three-year veteran has connected on 84.3 percent of field goal attempts, including 88.6 percent last season (good for fifth in the league).
- Lions offensive tackle Cornelius Lucas has signed his RFA tender, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. The Lions assigned Lucas an original-rounder tender last month, so they wouldn’t have gotten a pick had the 2014 undrafted free agent signed elsewhere and they chose not to match. Lucas is now slated to make $1.797MM this year in Detroit, where he has started in six of 35 career appearances.
- The Buccaneers have re-signed quarterback Ryan Griffin, cornerback Jude Adjei-Barimah, tight end Cameron Brate, linebacker Adarius Glanton, and wide receivers Adam Humphries and Freddie Martino, per Scott Smith of the team’s website. As a restricted free agent, Griffin is the only one of the bunch who could have potentially gone elsewhere (the rest were exclusive rights free agents). The Bucs tendered the 2013 undrafted free agent at an original-round level last month, and he’ll now try to win the No. 2 role behind Jameis Winston. Tampa Bay’s previous second-stringer, Mike Glennon, is now the Bears’ starter.
- RFA defensive back Marcus Burley and ERFA running back George Atkinson III are returning to the Browns, per a team announcement. Burley, undrafted in 2013, received an original-round tender. The former Seahawk is coming off his first year in Cleveland, where he appeared in 12 games and played just under 40 percent of the Browns’ special teams snaps.
- Fullback Tommy Bohanon and receiver Larry Pinkard have signed with the Jaguars, tweets the team’s account. Bohanon is the only with NFL experience, having logged 36 appearances and 14 starts as a Jet from 2013-15.
- Speaking of the Jets, they have re-signed linebacker Julian Stanford (via Randy Lange of the team’s site). The Jets could Stanford on Friday, but both sides knew that was only a procedural move. Last season was the first as a Jet for the 26-year-old Stanford, who appeared in nine games (two starts) and played about a quarter of their defensive snaps and a third of their special teams snaps.
Raiders Notes: Carr, Bowser
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr isn’t signed beyond next season, but it doesn’t appear he’ll go into 2017 without long-term security. Carr’s agent, Tim Younger, and Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie have been discussing an extension “for months,” Carr told reporters Monday. Those talks have been “super positive,” added Carr, who hopes a deal comes together by training camp (Twitter links via Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com). Carr, who tossed 28 touchdowns and six interceptions last season to help the Raiders break their 14-year playoff drought, is in line to become one of the NFL’s highest-paid signal-callers.
- Houston edge rusher Tyus Bowser is currently visiting the Raiders, according to ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link). Bowser, who racked up 22.5 sacks during his 43-game college career, could pique the Raiders’ interest in the first round, in which they’re slated to pick 24th.
Mark Davis Eyed Vegas Back In 2014
A thorough ESPN.com piece regarding the Raiders‘ move to Las Vegas revealed that Mark Davis was considering a move to Sin City as far back as 2014. While Davis’ intentions with Vegas didn’t become public until 2016, a dinner with NFL executive VP — and stadium-financing point man — Eric Grubman he wanted to take the Raiders to the desert. But Grubman was far more skeptical at the time. “Mark, you’ll never get approved to Las Vegas,” Grubman said, via Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham of ESPN. “They’ll oppose it on principle. It’s not gonna happen.” Davis described it as a “good market” at the time and eventually won out, largely because of Oakland’s inability to craft a stadium plan the NFL viewed as viable.
Here’s more on the Raiders and the latest coming out of the AFC.
- Sheldon Adelson did attempt to force Davis into giving him a stake in the Raiders. Davis refused, and part of Adelson’s removal from the project stemmed from the NFL owners having doubts about the casino mogul’s involvement. Van Natta and Wickersham allude to Adelson being irate at the Raiders for their tactics during this relocation push. This could be something to monitor down the line, with Davis and Adelson set to operate as high-powered figures in the same city relatively soon.
- Dolphins owner Stephen Ross viewed the team’s exit of a top market as questionable. Miami’s top decision-maker wondered if the Raiders should be stripped from the NFL’s revenue-sharing program for a decade because of the team downsizing considerably in market size — going from No. 6 to No. 40 — and accepting $200MM via NFL loan, the ESPN reporters note. Ross was the lone dissenter among NFL owners regarding the Raiders’ move to Nevada.
NFL Helped Raiders Secure Vegas Funding?
When the Chargers announced in January they were taking the NFL up on its offer to join the Rams in Los Angeles, the NFL foresaw a possible route to San Diego for the Raiders. The league did not want that, so it shifted focus from helping the Raiders procure a new stadium in Oakland to making sure the Las Vegas deal didn’t fall though, Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta Jr. of ESPN.com report in an expansive story chronicling the Raiders’ move to Sin City.
As the Raiders’ Vegas deal was flailing after the departures of Sheldon Adelson and Goldman Sachs in during the winter, league executives joined Raiders president Marc Badain in contacting Bank of America, according to Van Natta and Wickersham. The company soon replaced Adelson as a backer, injecting new life into the Raiders’ Vegas venture, and pledged a near-$1 billion line of credit to cover cost overruns from the impending stadium construction project.
Jerry Jones also played a role in this key chapter of the Raiders’ relocation process. Mark Davis said to Jones at one point last year, “you screwed me on L.A.” and Jones began to act feverishly to help the Raiders relocate. The Cowboys owner put his full support behind the project, something the league and the Raiders appreciated, according to the ESPN reporters, and attempted to procure financing for the endeavor. But some around the league are concerned with the fallout.
Jones’ push helped bring some owners off the fence, paving the way for the 31-1 relocation vote. But it irked another influential owner. Robert Kraft took exception to Jones’ stake in Legends Hospitality, a merchandise and concessions company that could stand to benefit from the $1.9 billion stadium deal.
Sources told Wickersham and Van Natta that Legends emerged as a contender to partner with the Raiders for nonfootball revenue. Kraft spoke to Adelson, a longtime friend who played a key role in helping secure the Raiders the record $750MM in public money before stepping aside due partially to a falling out with Davis, and told him “Jerry is running wild; I can’t believe this.” Adelson, according to the ESPN reporters, then said he would “kill” the Raiders’ deal in Vegas if Kraft wanted. But Kraft, who had been a backer of the Raiders’ effort, did not want to exercise that prospective option.
Kraft wasn’t the only high-powered NFL figure who was suspicious of Jones’ help here. The Dallas owner helping sway his peers while potentially factoring into the stadium’s finances would cause “a major conflict of interest,” a longtime aide to an NFL owner told ESPN, who added the question of “won’t Mark Davis always be beholden to Jerry Jones?” Bank of America has served as the Cowboys’ bank for 25 years, along with a team sponsor. It’s also the Raiders’ longtime bank.
Davis and NFL executive VP Eric Grubman were working toward different goals, with Davis concentrating solely with Vegas and Grubman working to keep the Raiders in Oakland. Grubman, who also attempted to work with St. Louis last year while Stan Kroenke set his sights on Los Angeles, concluded in December — according to ESPN — Oakland did not have a viable proposal. At that same December league meeting, Badain called Oakland’s proposal a “political, cover-your-ass joke” and said in October, per ESPN, “it would have been better if (Oakland) had offered nothing.”
“The stadium proposals received from Oakland are dependent on various contingencies and involve a number of significant uncertainties that membership concluded cannot be solved in a reasonable time,” the league’s statement on the Raiders’ relocation reads (via Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com, on Twitter), also citing the lack of Oakland progress in a two-year period after the league denied relocation applications in 2015 and placed the Raiders behind the Rams and Chargers in the Los Angeles pecking order a year later. “The proposal to relocate to Las Vegas involves a clearly defined and well-financed proposal for a first-class stadium.”
Marshawn Lynch Updates: Friday
Marshawn Lynch has dominated headlines today, with the longtime Seahawks running back close to coming out of retirement to play for the Raiders. Despite a deal being reported earlier today, it doesn’t look to be finalized yet. And Seattle still holds the soon-to-be 31-year-old back’s rights.
Here’s the latest coming out of the Lynch-to-Oakland saga.
- A deal has yet to commence, with the report of such finality being “100 percent false,” per Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Gehlken adds that the contract length for the Raiders and Lynch is expected to carry over to the team’s Las Vegas years. The Raiders’ stay in Oakland could be limited to one year, based on how their lame-duck arrangement goes this season, but the team is not scheduled to venture to Vegas until at least the 2019 season. Lynch coming back and playing for at least three more seasons may take a bit of a leap of faith considering his recent retirement. He will turn 31 next weekend.
- Lynch himself, in a way few can, candidly dismissed notion a deal was done (Twitter link). Lynch’s agent, Doug Hendrickson, texted an Oakland-area radio show (per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, via Twitter) to say no agreement is yet in place. Florio adds (on Twitter) the deal is “not even close” to being done.
- The Raiders, though, are reportedly impressed with the kind of shape the retired back was in during his visit to team headquarters, Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com tweets. Breer adds the talks between the Raiders and Lynch on a deal remain “ongoing and positive.” Lynch played only seven games in 2015 for the Seahawks and saw a streak of four straight 1,000-yard seasons end.
- Lynch is not currently at the Raiders’ facility, according to Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter), who does not expect an accord to arrive today. Tafur tweets there isn’t much urgency on the Raiders’ part for this, but he believes the sides will agree and Lynch will be playing for his hometown team in 2017. Lynch would be in line to head up a backfield that also features promising complements DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard.
- Tafur expects Reggie McKenzie to land Lynch for cheaper than the Vikings paid previous Oakland starter Latavius Murray (Twitter link). Murray, whom the Raiders were open to re-signing before he latched on with the Vikes, signed with Minnesota on a three-year, $15MM deal. Although, that deal could void after one season. So, Tafur expects Lynch to sign with the Raiders for less than $5MM. The last time Lynch made less than $5MM in a season was 2011.